CO2 leak causes alarm at Thorntons on Logan Street

[Click on photos below to enlarge.]

[April 14, 2014]     Send a link to a friend  Share

Pictures and text by Jim Youngquist

 

Around 12:30 Sunday afternoon a pressurized carbon dioxide truck delivering C02 for making soft drinks arrived at Thorntons to refill their carbonation tanks.

 
 

While hooking up, the "spitter" valve froze open, according to the driver. C02 was vented from the tank to the open air, creating a big, white
ominous cloud.

 

It made it look as though Thorntons was on fire. Lincoln police and the Lincoln Fire Department blocked off the surrounding streets, and members of the fire department entered the white cloud, wearing masks and tanks, to attempt turning off the valve.

 

 

C02 itself is not harmful but, as explained by the driver, it combines with oxygen in the air and renders the air unbreathable.

 

 

 

After about 20 minutes, the C02 leak ceased and things began to return to normal.

 

 

Back to top