This is Not a Test…

The last few weeks have been very hectic at the South Pole.
Christmas, New Years, the arrival of 4 British Marines who skied in from Patriot Hills (about 700 miles away), a group of 11 Indian Navy who skied in the last 2 degrees of latitude (about 100 miles), then a British woman skiing solo from Hercules Inlet – over 700 miles away - a new record, 39 days…and a major emergency in the power plant.

Christmas was spent like most days off – sleeping in, eating a huge brunch, then lazing around for the rest of the day. The night before X-mas, we enjoyed a fancy dinner, with tablecloths and everything. Holidays are nice because they give you something to look forward to, a little break in the monotony and, for most people, an extra day off.

The British arrived a few days later. They had a few bad spots of frostbite on their faces and smelled pretty ripe, but were otherwise in great shape considering they had just spent 46 days skiing across Antarctica, pulling heavy sleds behind them. Their plan was to pick up supplies that had been delivered for them at the Pole and then, when the wind was right, kite back to Patriot Hills. Luckily for us, the wind was coming from the complete wrong direction for a number of days after their arrival and the Brits were forced to hang out a few days longer than they had anticipated. In the meantime, they were lovely to talk to, gave us a great slide show / talk about their journey, and let me fly one of their kites. Especially appreciated was Paul’s willingness to sing for the band that played at our New Year’s party. It was a great save as the band didn’t have a singer.
They’re on their way back now sending out cool web updates. http://www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/polarquest2/index.php

The Indian Naval group and the solo skier were all in the galley on the day of the Brit’s slide show and were able to add a lot of information and tell us about their own particular expeditions. I admire their courage of pitting themselves against the harshness of Antarctica, but I think they’re all nuts. There are many people who have a love affair with Antarctica, but I will never understand how someone can love a continent that is constantly trying to kill you.

OK, on to the big drama, our powerplant emergency. Just a few days after X-mas, I was getting ready to go to work when the fire alarm sounded. “Whooop, whoop, whoop!” Then a computer voice, “May I have your attention please. There is a fire emergency in the POWERPLANT, in the POWERPLANT.”
“Damn. I really hope this is another false alarm,” I thought, but hurried to get dressed and get to the powerplant. I’m on the volunteer trauma team, so it’s my responsibility to show up whether it’s a drill or not. Then, as I was about to leave the building for the powerplant, a human voice came over the loudspeaker, “Please be advised, CO2 has been released in the powerplant.”
Damn. Not a drill.
CO2 is only released in a real fire and only for a fire involving electrical equipment. Before a CO2 release, there is only a 30 second warning. If you’re not out of the room quick, the gas can be deadly. I searched my brain for who might be in the powerplant at that hour, “Adam is on shift right now. Oh please don’t let Adam be in the room with CO2 being released,” I thought.
I hurried to the powerplant.
When I arrived, the scene seemed like complete chaos. The power was out, there was tons of smoke and people were running back and forth in firefighter gear. I asked the first person I found where the muster point for the trauma team was and was directed to the bar. When I walked in I saw someone on the floor being secured to a stretcher.
That’s Bill!
Damn.
There were enough people handling the situation so I just hung back and tried to help provide light with the failing flashlights we had available.
Damn. This was the real thing. Not a drill. I took a quick inventory of the medical supplies in case we had another victim. Then my friend Adam came in supported by two people. He was able to sit up but looked terrible.
I yelled, “We have another one! Get the first patient out to medical quick! We need the room!”
Bill was quickly shuttled out the door to a waiting snowmobile and whisked off to medical. Now it was Adam’s turn. He was coherent, but had inhaled a lot of smoke. I helped put him in a mummy bag and strap him to a back board while someone gave him oxygen. Within 5 minutes, he was on his way to Medical.
Now came the hard part. Waiting. Would there be more victims? Would the power come back on? What was going on in the powerplant?
After almost 7 hours of sitting around, the power finally came back on and was stable. The “fire” turned out to have come from a leaking pipe that broke and poured heating fluid (glycol) onto a hot generator. The glycol smoked but no real fire erupted. We had a total of 6 victims, all of whom were pronounced OK by the doctor and allowed to go home by the end of the day. In the end, everything was fine, we learned a lot about our emergency response abilities, discovered some weaknesses, realized how much we all depend on each other and were reminded that heat and electricity are truly wonderful things when the outside temperature is teeth-chatteringly cold.

More photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32829412@N00/