Pflugerville Authorities Ordered a Shelter-in-Place Due to Chemical Smell

By THC Staff | February 7, 2017

 

On Friday, some Pflugerville residents were asked to stay in their homes while Windermere Elementary School underwent a shelter-in-place precaution (meaning that faculty, staff, and children were to remain indoors with the doors and windows closed, rather than evacuating the building). According to KXAN, 150 homes in a half-mile radius surrounding Wiseman Drive and Dashwood Creek Drive were told to keep indoors due to a chemical mix-up at a nearby water pump facility.

A chemical delivery truck at the water facility inserted the “wrong substance in the wrong tank, causing a chemical reaction,” according to the director of operations for the Windermere Utility Company. The overwhelming smell of ammonia filled the air after an eruption of pressure from “working with liquid ammonia sulfate,” KXAN writes.

KVUE reported that Austin-Travis County EMS called it a “toxic explosion.” TWC News said that while no one needed to go to the hospital, one person was treated for minor injuries. The event started around 12:40 p.m., and wrapped up around 2:00 p.m.

Thankfully, nothing terrible came from the ordeal, but the work of many first responders was needed to make sure that nothing went awry. The Pflugerville Fire Department, police, and EMS were on hand at the site to manage the situation and ease the minds of those who were alarmed by the smell and shelter in place.