North Van firefighters say a local fishing crew is lucky after an ammonia leak aboard their boat sent one man to hospital.
The first 911 call came in at 4 a.m. Monday from the Seymour Creek Marina at the foot of Orwell Street in the District of North Vancouver.
The crew was in the process of unloading their catch for a local fish processing plant when the boat’s sensors picked up unsafe levels of the noxious gas. Larger fishing vessels typically have their own ammonia-charged cooling plants on board, similar to ice arenas, to freeze fish.
Because there was some risk passengers were still aboard, the first district fire crew member on scene called in the North Vancouver City Fire Department’s hazardous materials team.
“We went into a full hazmat mode to go in and do a sweep of the entire boat to confirm that there was no other patient and we were successful,” said city fire chief Dan Pistilli.
There was one man, however, who had to be treated at the scene and transferred to hospital.
“He wasn’t in any severe distress when we transferred him over so it was a good sign. He was talking and alert,” Pistilli said.
On board, the hazmat team traced the leak to a line in the cooling system, which was sending the gas into the boat’s galley and sleeping quarters. With ammonia, 300 parts per million in the atmosphere is considered an immediate threat to human life.
“We were getting some fairly high readings on our detection equipment,” Pistilli said. “(It was) in the 200s and in around the 300-mark as well too so there was definitely the risk of some serious health issues if someone was in there for longer period of time.”
Once the vessel was deemed safe, the fire crews transferred the boat back to its owners and a refrigeration contractor. The fishing vessel is registered in BC and most of its crew are from Vancouver Island, Pistilli said.
Pistilli credited the district fire captain for quickly assessing problem and overseeing the hazmat response.
