After a Lexington County School District Two school underwent a "hold" response protocol due to Thursday's hazardous material emergency in Cayce (which resulted in zero injuries, officials said), the district shared more information on emergency protocols.

According to a media release, at around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, about 80 homes in Cayce were evacuated after hazardous vapors were detected coming from a tanker truck located at the business, Crystal Clean, at 627 Poplar St. 

"The business is fully cooperating with our ongoing investigation to determine cause and corrective measures," a city spokesperson said.

More than 25 Cayce police officers and eight Cayce firefighters responded to the scene, assisting residents within a quarter-mile radius of the evacuation site.

Officials determined the vapors were caused by the heating of potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, motor fuel and a small amount of antifreeze.

At 11:15 a.m., a third-party company arrived to remove the chemical product, which occupied roughly 1,900 gallons of the 4,000-gallon tanker truck. The materials were transported off-site for further investigation and proper disposal. 

“The safety today comes from the partnership of emergency responders and a great community working in an expeditious manner,” Cayce Mayor Pro Tem Tim James said during a media briefing. “Thank you to our first responders and our citizens for your trusting in and quickly adhering to the plan.” 

In addition to Cayce’s officers and firefighters, more than 10 local agencies assisted, including Lexington County EMS, Lexington County Fire, Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, West Columbia Police Department, West Columbia Fire Department, Columbia Fire Department, Richland County Fire Department, Columbia Haz-Mat/Special Operations, Lexington County Local Emergency Planning Committee and Lexington County Incident Management.

Brookland-Cayce High School was placed under a temporary hold response protocol due to the incident, which was lifted around 1 p.m. when the city announced "all clear." The hold entailed the school day going on as scheduled, but with students and staff required to remain inside the building until all was clear.

Cayce provided the following timeline: 

6:52 a.m. - City of Cayce dispatch received the emergency call.

7 a.m. - All Cayce emergency units were on scene.

7:30 a.m. – Cayce police and fire began going door-to-door to each resident and business within a ¼ mile of 627 Poplar St.

11:15 a.m. - A third-party clean-up company arrived at 627 Poplar St. to unload the chemical products from the tanker truck; a medical team and a tactical team were on standby.

Noon – Roads began reopening around the perimeter.

1 p.m. – All clear notification issued for residents to return home safely.

The district follows the "I Love U Guys Standard Response Protocols" for emergency situations, including severe weather, medical events, intruders and more.

The protocols are as follows, as worded on iloveuguys.org: 

"HOLD is followed by the Directive: 'In Your Room or Area' and is the protocol used when hallways need to be kept clear of occupants. 

SECURE is followed by the Directive: 'Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors' and is the protocol used to safeguard people within the building.

LOCKDOWN is followed by the Directive: 'Locks, Lights, Out of Sight' and is the protocol used to secure individual rooms within a building and keep occupants quiet and in place (but out of sight). 

EVACUATE may be followed by a location, and is used to move people from one location to a different location in or out of the building. 

SHELTER and state the Hazard and Safety Strategy for group and self protection."