A chemical reaction inside a Home Depot in Freeport left 13 people needing medical attention and triggered a large hazmat response, officials say, as emergency crews worked for hours to contain the situation at the busy Long Island store. The incident turned a routine day at the home-improvement retailer into a major emergency.
The response unfolded at the Home Depot along Sunrise Highway in Freeport, in Nassau County. According to News 12, it was a huge emergency operation, with crews still active at the scene hours after the reaction began, and it played out in the middle of an intense heat wave.
Officials said the trouble started when a pallet of chlorine bleach and vinegar fell inside the store. When those chemicals mixed, they set off a reaction, the kind of combination that can release irritating and dangerous fumes and that prompted the call for hazardous-materials teams.
In all, 13 people were exposed to the chemicals and needed medical attention. Of those, three were taken to a hospital for further care. The remaining people were evaluated at the scene as responders worked to account for everyone who had been affected.
Hazmat crews in full protective gear moved in and out of the building as they worked to make it safe. Responders were seen using a pool outside the store's main entrance to rinse off before heading back inside, a decontamination step to keep the chemicals from spreading.
Officials said there was no ongoing threat to the public or the environment, and that the hazmat team was cleaning up the site. It remained unclear when workers would be able to return, or exactly what had caused the pallet to fall in the first place.
The emergency came as temperatures across the region climbed into the triple digits, adding to the strain on the crews working the scene in heavy protective equipment. With a holiday weekend approaching and a dangerous heat wave gripping the area, officials had already been urging residents to take precautions, and the Freeport response underscored how demanding conditions had become for first responders.