Hazmat Incident At Camarillo Hospital

Tuesday September 17, 2024

(Photos courtesy VCFD PIO)

     Ventura County Fire Department hazmat units responded to a Camarillo hospital Tuesday morning to deal with a small spill involving a potentially hazardous substance.

     They found that about a half gallon of formaldehyde had spilled in an operating room at Saint John's Pleasant Valley Hospital.

     The impact of the spill was limited to the operating room since it's ventilation system is separate from the rest of the hospital so there was no exposure to other patients and staff.

     It's unclear if anyone was in the operating room at the time of the spill or how it occurred.

     Meanwhile, hazmat-trained firefighters entered the room and mitigated the spill by late morning.

     No injuries were reported and there was no threat to rest of the hospital and the surrounding community.

     The incident did prompt Antonio Avenue in front of the hospital to be shut down for a time primarily to accommodate access and staging of the fire equipment.