Just before 10:00 on July 26th, Metro Fire HazMat, firefighters, and other public safety agencies, responded to AMPAC Fine Chemicals on the Aerojet Rocketdyne campus in Rancho Cordova for a report of a chemical leak from a cylinder. The cylinder, located in a remote location on the Aerojet Rocketdyne grounds, was determined to have a small leak of Anhydrous Hydrogen Bromide. As a precaution, all personnel not assigned to the incident were evacuated from the campus.

HazMat Team members train regularly for incidents such as this. Working closely with AMPAC, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Law Enforcement, and other public safety agencies on scene, the HazMat Team was briefed on the situation, developed a plan, donned specialized gear, and entered the hot zone to try to fix the leak in the cylinder. When they were not able to cap the leak, the cylinder was moved by truck to an isolated building with a scrubber (specialized chemical filter) in order to contain the leak.  At that point, all evacuations on Aerojet Rocketdyne campus were lifted. The fork lift and truck used to move the cylinder will both be decontaminated; the cylinder will be placed in a secure container to be transported off site and destroyed.

Numerous agencies, both public and private, worked seamlessly to ensure the situation was resolved in the most efficient manner, with the safety of the public always the top priority.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District (Metro Fire) serves an area encompassing 417 square miles that include Sacramento and Placer counties. Metro Fire is the seventh largest fire agency in the State of California.