London fire crews battle spill at chemical storage facility in east end

London, Ont., emergency crews made quick work of a spill on the roof of a chemical storage facility in the city’s east end Thursday.

The London Fire Department’s hazmat team evacuated the area surrounding the Anchem facility on Stronach Crescent around 8:30 a.m. as a precaution after hydrogen peroxide leaked on the roof.

No injuries were reported.

“There was a truck that was unloading hydrogen peroxide into the main pipe for the storage facility, and the valve was not turned on. So the pipe itself got over-pressurized and burst over top of the roof area,” said London Fire Department District Chief Jamie Britton. That caused a chemical reaction as the hydrogen peroxide spilled over the tar and gravel material on the roof, creating a plume a white smoke.

Britton said the company acted quickly to shut off supply to the roof area and fire crews had the situation under control within roughly 20 minutes.
An exact dollar figure for the damage hasn’t been determined yet, but Britton estimated it to be around $10,000.