Greater Alarm Hazardous Materials Incident

On Friday, March 3, 2006, at 9:10 a.m., eleven companies of San Jose Firefighters, two Deputy Chief Officers, five Battalion Chief Officers and eight support units including a second Mutual Aid Hazardous Incident Team, under the direction of Battalion Chief Ruben Torres and operations Chief Kevin Conant, responded to a report of a Hazardous Materials Incident at 80 Rose Orchard Way, San Jose, CA.

Upon arrival Firefighters donned full protective clothing including their self-contained breathing apparatus to rescue one employee and evacuated three others from a clean room fabrication area. They initially treated the four patients with medical complaints and evacuated the immediate area of all other non-essential personnel. Initial reports from employees described a burned rubber or onion odor. Two members of the San Jose Fire Haz-Mat Team and one member of the Santa Clara County Fire Haz-Mat Team donned level “A” (air, vapor and water tight) suits and entered the facility equipped with a multitude of hazardous materials electronic detectors and a 4 tube drager pump able to detect any of four specific toxic gases. PH paper was also used to detect any corrosives or acids that may have been present in or around the suspected area. After exiting the building the Haz-Mat Team reported no traces of hazardous or toxic substances were found in the atmosphere. The PH paper also came up negative.


A total of 17 patients were transported to local hospitals including four Firefighters. Medical complaints ranged from difficulty breathing to minor skin irritation. Within a few hours, after examination and observation, all four Firefighters were released from the hospital.

The situation was under control at 3:41 p.m. and turned over to San Jose Fire Departments Bureau of Fire Prevention’s Hazardous Materials Inspectors. The Inspectors will determine the parameters and process to be followed to allow the company to resume work.

Submitted by Captain, Alberto Olmos, Public Information Officer and Craig Allyn Rose, Volunteer Photographer, San Jose Fire Department