Eight people sent to hospital...., ....including two Whitby firemen Spilie& I Eyrs ~A mhr bt h cietcue er uLII By MICHAEL KNELL Free Press Staff About 150 people from the evacuated fromn their homes last Thursday night after an accident on a nearby farm mania to be spiiled inta the ground. The accident occurred on i2fr.h'Pnn&!ine-tn Norman liage of- Kinsale were causeci 1,000 gations of aam- a iarL " i'r*"*àD-t . ween Brooklin and Kinsale on the Whitby-Pickering rural boundary. total of eiglit people to be sent to either Oshawa General or the Ajax- Pickering General Hospitals suffering from ammonia inhalation. According to Derek Pier- ce, the ca-owner of the Whit- by Ambulance Service, two Whitby firefighters, two residents of the farm and four ambulance attendants (fromn his service) were sent to hospital. Superintendant Ernie Barker of the- Durham Regional Police Force said that the accident occurred after the farmer had connec- ted a hose between his trac- tor and a tank containing liquid fertilizer mounted on a four wheel trailer. For an unexplained, as yet, reasan the hose connec- tîng the two vehicles burst allowing the ammonia to spill into the ground uncon- trollably. Barker told the Free Press that the farmer was then about to get the people out of the two houses an the farm and then caîl the police. The f irst ones on the scene were members of the Whitby Fire Departmerlt and they could not get ta the tank without respirators and ac- cording to Barker by the time they had gotten ta the tank to turn off the valve, it was aiready empty. "lWe understand that the tank would have been near empty at the time the fire department turned off the valve," Barker said. Most of the people in the area had evacuated them- selves by the time the emergeflcy services arrived, Barker said, adding that they were aliawed to Norman Eyres told the Free Press that when the hose burst it "lwent off like a car tire blew." He said that there was no damage done to bis 100 acre farm except that the front lawn of his two houses was killed. Eyres said that t.he heavy rubber hose released a big white cloud that could be seen for a couple of miles ini ail directions. The accident will not prevent him fram using the, fertilizer again. It's not dangerous," he said. "I'm going to keep on using it. " Eyres also said that the accident could have hap- pened to anyone at any time. "lIt's flot dangerous when used properly," he said. "I1t's just one of those things." Eyres said that the farm had pretty much returned to normal except that he had been overexposed to of- ficiais of the Ministry of the Enviranmeflt and members of the media, especially those from Toronto TV stations. He said he also is finding it a little bit funny because people were calling it a mini- Mississauga. Over the weekend, Cap- tain Charlie Burns and Firefighter Ed Bartlett were released- from Oshawa General Hospital after being admitted for ammania inhalation when they turned off the valve to the 1,000 gallon tank. Ahl of the victimns of the in- cident have alsa been released from hospital. t Norman Eyres looks puzzled as he tries to figure out what happened when a rubber hose on a tank burst on his farm releasing 1,000 gallons of liquid fertiizer into the ground. The neighbouriflg village of Kinsale on the Whitby-Pickering rural border had to be evacuated for about five hours last Thursday night because of the impending danger from ammonia fumes- -Free Press Photo by Stephen Greenaway The cuiprt A hase connected ta this tank was the cause for concern iast Thursday night. Mter that hase, connected ta Norman Eyres' tractar, burst 1,000 galions of iiquîd fertilizer spilied inta the ground releasing a white cioud f ammania fumes that couid be seen several miles away. Despite ail the trouble that was caused iast week, the farmer says that he wili continue ta use this brand of fertilizer saying that it is safe when used prperiy and that was an unfortunate incident. -Free Press Photo vi Wondering what happened l nà,q P-nrlv e- htm