3.9 Decision Making
The El Dorado incident involved an explosion and fire at the Teris facility. As a result of the type of incident, the incident command was the responsibility of the El Dorado Fire Department. The decision to evacuate was made by the incident commander based on the toxicity of the chemicals and the fire. The police department supported the call for an evacuation and implemented a mandatory evacuation.
At the Teris facility, an on-site State of Arkansas hazardous waste inspector monitored Teris activities. During the explosion and fire, the inspector monitored Teris activities to ensure that the situation in terms of air pollution/contamination did not worsen. Information gathered at the scene was transmitted to the office in Little Rock, Arkansas.
State of Arkansas Department of Air Quality personnel were on the scene outside the Teris facility and were considered part of the incident command structure. They provided air-monitoring information to the LEPC to assist in their decision making.
February 6, 2006
Publication #FHWA-HOP-08-014
