Members of the public have been assured that a mysterious substance which sparked a major chemical alert in Glenrothes town centre posed no risk to people’s safety.
Authorities have confirmed that the liquid which caused the evacuation of Glenrothes bus station for more than an hour on Wednesday evening was “non-hazardous” and “non-toxic”, although further tests will be carried out to ascertain exactly what it was.
Emergency services descended on the scene at around 4.15pm after receiving a report of a clear chemical leaking out of a drain at the bus station’s taxi rank, with witnesses also describing a distinctive chemical smell in the area.
A cordon was set up as a precaution, but the fire service, ambulance and police stood down when the all clear was finally given more than two hours after the initial call.
Despite the apparent false alarm, a spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the emergency services had to take the report of potentially hazardous chemicals seriously.
“A full chemical response was mobilised including two pumps from Glenrothes and a Detection Identification and Monitoring (DIM) unit from Dundee,” the spokesperson added.
“Firefighters worked quickly alongside Police Scotland to evacuate the area and establish cordons.
“Firefighters wore breathing apparatus when entering the risk area to collect samples and assess the leak which was deemed non-hazardous and non-toxic by the DIM unit in conjunction with Glasgow Scientific Services.”
It is understood that Fife Council was then requested to aid with disposal of the chemical before firefighters left the scene at 6.40pm.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) was contacted by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and is expected to be involved in the investigation, although a spokesperson for SEPA said that it did not expect any “significant impact” on the environment.
A taxi driver, who did not wish to be named, said after the alert: “I was sitting in my taxi and we were all out in the rank when we could smell what was like an ammonia smell coming through the drains.
“One of the guys thought it smelled like his clutch was away, but we soon knew it wasn’t that.
“It was bubbling up through the drain, whatever it was, and all the taxis in the rank had to be moved out of the area before it was cordoned off, and it was then closed completely.”
She added: “They (the emergency services) obviously didn’t know what it is, but one of the drivers said it was blue.”
Locals have also suggested that both the Kingdom Shopping Centre and Scottish Water were told about the drain in question being blocked at the end of last year, although both denied responsibility.
