Air conditioning system failed causing tower evacuation.

Attributes
ACN	154259
Time
Date	199008
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : bdr
State Reference	CT
Person 1
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : ground
Qualification	controller : non radar
ASRS Report	154259
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	faa : investigated
Supplementary
Air Traffic Incident	other
Situations
ATC Facility	other physical facility

Narrative:

On the morning shift the air conditioning system failed and emitted a large quantity of freon into the tower cabin. Due to the freon, tower personnel were forced to evacuate/evacuation the cabin and suspend ATC service. The substandard and antiquated air conditioning system has been a problem for many yrs and is a matter of official record. This incident could have been avoided and may happen again if the system is not replaced. Note: all 9 tower personnel were sent to the hospital, treated and released.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FAILED CAUSING TWR EVACUATION.

Narrative: ON THE MORNING SHIFT THE AIR CONDITIONING SYS FAILED AND EMITTED A LARGE QUANTITY OF FREON INTO THE TWR CABIN. DUE TO THE FREON, TWR PERSONNEL WERE FORCED TO EVAC THE CABIN AND SUSPEND ATC SVC. THE SUBSTANDARD AND ANTIQUATED AIR CONDITIONING SYS HAS BEEN A PROB FOR MANY YRS AND IS A MATTER OF OFFICIAL RECORD. THIS INCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED AND MAY HAPPEN AGAIN IF THE SYS IS NOT REPLACED. NOTE: ALL 9 TWR PERSONNEL WERE SENT TO THE HOSPITAL, TREATED AND RELEASED.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.