Firefighters are investigating after a chemical leak from a train car in Spokane Valley.
On Friday, Oct. 25, someone called the fire department after seeing a red fluid leaking from a rail car at Kemira Water Solutions at 2317 N. Sullivan Road.
Crews later learned that the chemical was ferric chloride and it had been leaking for approximately 30 minutes. A Kemira employee also told them that a valve or pipe had cracked during a routine transfer.
The leak was not immediately stopped by employees because of the method of transfer used, according to the Spokane Valley Fire Department.
Normal procedure would be to pressurize the tank with air and allow the fluid to move under pressure. When the valve broke, the increased pressure forced the fluid out of the hole instead of through the lines into a holding tank.