A n industrial accident last week caused some tense moments in Calhoun County, but through some quick thinking and help from neighbors, the matter was resolved quickly and safely.
The incident happened on Thursday afternoon at a gravel company. A worker, apparently digging around for new material, instead dug into a 10-inch pipeline carrying ammonia, which is toxic and, if concentrated, is fatal.
When it happened, Calhoun County Sheriff Vernon Morris went into action -- by picking up the phone.
"Upon notification, I personally called the pipeline's 800 number immediately and spoke with a gentleman in Missouri," Morris said. "He was able to shut down the ammonia pumps right away, but it still took some time after that for the pressure in the system to fully evacuate."
So one part of the problem was addressed. But that was hardly the end of it. There were people in the town of Hampton who would need to be alerted and their homes evacuated. Officials said 150 people were removed from Hampton and another 30 homes emptied nearer the site.
That's a tall order for a little county, but help came from many directions.
Donna Steelman, director of the county's Office of Emergency Management, had high praise for the other agencies that came on the run when they heard that Calhoun County needed assistance.
Bradley County opened its old National Guard armory, and Dallas County opened its Civic Center to house the evacuees, she said.
"Calhoun County is the smallest in the state population-wise so we have only five full-time sheriff's department officers, including Sheriff Vernon Morris," she said. "In anticipation of townwide, door-to-door evacuations, the El Dorado Fire Department, Bradley and Ouachita County sheriff's departments and a couple of canine units turned out to provide extra help in assisting with the task. It's important to recognize the dedication of those officers who in many cases had already worked a full day shift and have since been here all night carrying on their duties for the good of the community. No one we called on for help told us 'no.'"
In the end, Steelman said, not only was no one injured but there weren't even any calls for emergency services.
The team effort seems to have worked in a way that suggests these different agencies are very comfortable with the idea of helping each other when the situation calls for it and that this was not their first rodeo.
Dallas County Sheriff Stan McGahee put it succinctly,
"Every county has emergency plans already in place with this exact situation with varying contingencies for all kinds of scenarios," he said. "Fortunately, those plans came together as intended, and our Calhoun County sheriff's department counterparts did their jobs to keep the citizens of that community safe from imminent harm."
Indeed, job well done!