Federal Firefighters from Naval Base San Diego, Naval Base Coronado and nearby Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach provided critical robotic support to civilian first responders during a recent major chemical incident at a civilian industrial facility.
The incident in Garden Grove, California over the Memorial Day weekend involved the evacuation of over 50,000 local residents after a chemical storage tank at a private aerospace company overheated and began venting toxic and highly flammable chemicals.
Following requests for support from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Orange County Fire Authority, Navy Fire and Emergency Services personnel arrived May 23 with Johnny-5, a Thermite RS-1 firefighting robot.
“The robot’s initial mission was to provide decontamination support for hazardous materials entry teams operating in the hot zone,” said Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Fire Chief Matt Rios, the robot division lead for the event. “Once we arrived, we ended up taking on more responsibilities as the situation developed.”
Rios, along with robot team entry lead Assistant Fire Chief Anthony Glorioso from Naval Base Coronado and robot operator Firefighter David Gyselbrecht from Naval Base San Diego, had their work cut out for them.
“The robot made entry on May 24 and remained downrange within the hot zone until the 27th,” said Rios. “We were able to support our civilian partners with decontamination activities as well as reconnaissance, remote fire suppression and air sampling.”
“The system employed LIDAR mapping technology to deliver real-time data to the incident command team, supporting operational decision making in coordination with both the EPA and the local fire agency,” added Glorioso.
The team departed May 27, following successful first responder efforts to neutralize the chemical threat and end community evacuation orders.
“This incident demonstrated the strength of regional and local partnerships and the importance of agencies coming together to support one another during high-risk operations,” said Rios. “Through teamwork, shared resources, and coordinated response efforts, we were able to better protect our responders, our communities, and the public we serve every day.”