Martinkovic:
“we were already
scheduling … a class”
MONTICELLO – The recent suicide of a Newburgh woman who mixed chemicals in her car is not going unnoticed by emergency officials elsewhere.
Sullivan County’s Emergency Management Director, Richard Martinkovic, told the County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee that even before the Town of Newburgh incident, plans were in the works to prepare their staff for handling a similar situation, involving very deadly fumes.
“As it turns out, we were already scheduling, through our training center, a class which is sponsored by the state Office of Fire Prevention Control, for emergency responders, fire police and EMS, that if we came across a situation like that, that we would have ample opportunity to react but not to become part of the chemical reaction that happened.”
Martinkovic said their understanding of what happened in Newburgh is that the victim, who had downloaded instructions on how to mix the chemicals which produced the fumes, did follow a suggestion to put a sign on the window of the car, but that officers who responded to the late night scene did not see it.
Some were overcome, requiring hospital treatment. All have recovered.
