Always know where you are sitting... (from the NPS Morning Report)

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Thursday, September 08, 2011





Grand Teton National Park (WY)
VC Evacuated Following Accidental Bear Spray Discharge

As a park ranger was greeting visitors for a morning program in the Colter Bay auditorium this past Tuesday, a man sat down on what was apparently his unsecured can of bear spray, causing the can to discharge its contents of highly irritating spray into the room. The irritating element in bear spray is oleoresin capsicum, the same element in the pepper spray carried by law enforcement rangers but with a higher percentage of the irritant. The ranger immediately recognized what had happened and directed all the occupants to the emergency exits. The visitor who accidently discharged the bear spray ran from the room and building. Park emergency personnel were notified of the incident, as the building's air handling systems moved the residual pepper spray into the main lobby. The first arriving units found approximately 20 employees and visitors in the main lobby coughing and experiencing other side effects from the pepper spray. Incident command was established and the building was evacuated, after which structural fire personnel in full PPE began ventilating the building and emergency medical staff evaluated both employees and visitors. All the affected individuals declined medical treatment. Visitor services were continued through the day at portable tables in front of the visitor center while cleanup was begun by facility management staff. Cleanup presented a challenging task, though, as the irritant is dispersed in an oil-based aerosol that attaches to any surface it contacts, including vinyl, plastics, carpeting, clothing and human skin. The cooperating association bagged and sealed many soft items, such as t-shirts and stuffed animals, for decontamination at a later date. Rangers were unsuccessful in locating the person who discharged the bear spray, but statements from the interpreter in the room and other visitors indicate that the discharge was accidental. The visitor center was reopened on Wednesday.
[Submitted by Patrick Hattaway, North District Ranger/Incident Commander]

*sigh* *shakes head*

I guess everyone should be glad the guy wasn't carrying a pistol.

Sue

In Alaska a lot of people carry bear spray, for obvious reasons. This presents a serious hazard when riding on small aircraft or other vehicles. If a bear spray discharged in the cockpit of a bush plane, it could easily lead to a tragic crash.

Float plane pilots will require you to put the spray in a cargo hatch in one of the floats. In the SAR group I volunteer with we sometimes ride in the State Trooper's helicopter. They have a 50 Cal ammo can (the steel kind that seal tightly) where we are required to put our spray when we get aboard. When I ride the tranit buses to go hiking in Denali National Park, I always bury the spray deep inside my pack until off the bus.

I have been told that UV light breaks down the active ingrediants in pepper spray. Obviously this doesn't help when it is discharged indoors.

The skin (normally very thin aluminum) of the containers are quite thin, I have seen two discharge due to puncture. Fortunately I owned neither of them and they were not in my car or within 20m of me at the time.

I now always check to see that my Bear Spray is securely inside a pocket of my pack before stowing it in a car, not dangling on a belt to be; dropped, sat on or have something dropped on.