PENSACOLA, Fla. — A fire that broke out Wednesday morning near a laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida caused a scare involving potentially toxic smoke, but no serious injuries, the base said.
Eglin said Wednesday that some firefighters suffered dehydration when fighting the fire, but there were no other injuries.
Eglin first said on its Twitter and Facebook feeds that an explosion occurred at about 10 a.m. at the McKinley Climatic Lab on base, spewing out a plume of smoke that officials at first feared might have contained methyl chloride. The base established a 1,000-foot cordon and evacuated the surrounding area. The base also ordered other personnel in the area to shelter in place and turn off their heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to avoid the potentially toxic smoke.
Shortly before 1 p.m., after the smoke dissipated, Eglin lifted the shelter in place and announced that HVAC systems could be turned back on.
After the emergency had subsided, the base said that it was actually a fire at a support chamber near the lab, not an explosion. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
It also remains unknown whether the smoke contained methyl chloride, though Eglin said the incident took place nearby the chemical.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
