Emergency personnel from Fairchild AFB, Wash., responded Aug. 12 to a toxic gas leak in nearby Spokane that hospitalized four people at a recycling plant, according to Fairchild officials. Airmen with the 92nd Medical Group’s bioenvironmental team and emergency management personnel from the 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron assisted local agencies in responding to an accide?ntal release of chlorine gas at Pacific Steel and Recycling when workers placed an unmarked 55-gallon drum in a crushing machine, according to Fairchild officials. A yellowish-green gas released, caused respiratory distress that sent four people to the hospital. The Fairchild Fire Department personnel provided decontamination for those exposed to the gas. The emergency management group was teaching a survival course on base when it was called to the scene, SSgt. Bryan Foley, a 92nd CES emergency manage?ment member, said in a release.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
