The Baileyville Police Department is praising the work of emergency responders yesterday after a chemical spill at Woodland Pulp… but they didn’t expect this. In a post to Facebook, the BPD said the teams worked flawlessly to bring the fourteen injured workers to the Calais Regional Hospital, after a chlorine dioxide leak at the mill around noontime. However, they had a slight hiccup, as the final ambulance carrying the last injured worker struck a horse while on route. Police say the horse escaped from a nearby barn and ran across the road in front of the ambulance, which was able to slow down, but still struck the animal. The horse was later deemed to be ok after running back to the barn, but the ambulance is out of commission. Another ambulance arrived within minutes and successfully took the last patient to hospital.
In the meantime, the Calais Regional Hospital has lifted their Emergency Response Plan, which was activated following the chemical spill. They are no longer diverting non-emergency patients for treatment.