Firefighting Foam Spilled At Red Hill Before. The Navy Didn’t Notify Anyone

TL;DR - Two years before this month’s leak of toxic firefighting foam at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel facility, fire suppressant foam spilled in another part of the complex, Navy records show.

But when Hawaii Department of Health officials asked about it, they said the Navy told them no firefighting foam had been released.

Aqueous film forming foam and water flooded the floor of an underground pump house in September 2020, according to a former Red Hill employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share information. The fire suppression system had been activated even though there was no fire, and the floor was covered with white foam and liquid, the former employee said.

The Navy said this week that 5,000 gallons of liquid were released on Sept. 29, 2020 after an “inadvertent trigger” of the fire suppression system, but it said the liquid was water from a pipeline that previously contained AFFF.

December 18, 2022: Firefighting Foam Spilled At Red Hill Before. The Navy Didn’t Notify Anyone, Honolulu Civil Beat