An accidental release of firefighting foam has impacted a nearby creek that runs through a popular dog park.
On Wednesday evening, community members at the Bateman Dog Park in Abbotsford, B.C., noticed foam in the local creek starting to pile up.
Upon closer inspection, Kelly Perrin said he found dead fish and other dead water creatures in the creek.
“I came back at 11 p.m. Everything was dead and as I went up the creek it got worse,” he told Global News.
“Everything downstream could die. We don’t know the toxicity of the foam and we don’t know its potential but I can tell you everything I’ve seen is dead.”
Perrin said he went to bed without information about what was happening, despite contacting numerous local authorities.
“I don’t think they responded appropriately,” he said.
Signs started going up Thursday morning at the park, warning users about the water. Also, firefighters were telling people to keep their pets on the trails.
Abbotsford Fire Chief Erick Peterson has taken responsibility as concentrated firefighting foam was accidentally spilled at Firehall 7 and flowed into a storm drain, eventually ending up in Stoney Creek.
“To the citizens of Abbotsford, I am deeply apologetic for what occurred,” Peterson said.
“We use a pump-in system and, unfortunately, we had an incident that was unpredictable.
“We will be doing a full-scale investigation of this incident, reviewing procedures and if anything needs to change, those changes will be implemented.”
When Global News was at Firehall 7 on Thursday, a camera operator saw Environment Canada staff on site. They were seen pulling empty plastic bins from a dumpster.
It is unclear exactly how much foam was released into the creek.
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