Canton firefighters contain liquid nitrogen tank

Canton Fire Chief Wendell Robery praised his firefighters for successfully containing a liquid nitrogen leak at a laboratory on Dan Road last week.

Firefighters contained a liquid nitrogen leak at a lab on Dan Road last week. (CFD photo)

The leak was reported shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday, November 7, at 45 Dan Road. When fire crews and a state Hazmat team arrived, the building had already been evacuated. No injuries were reported.

Following an investigation, first responders determined that the leak was due to a malfunction of a relief valve on a cryogenic storage dewar — a specialized vacuum flask used for storing materials such as liquid nitrogen.

The approximately 60-gallon tank was removed from the building, fully emptied, and cordoned off in the rear parking lot of the facility. Hazmat investigators and Canton Fire crews checked the building to ensure it was safe for everyone to go back inside.

The scene was cleared by 12:30 p.m., and Canton Deputy Fire Chief Andy Morgan remained on the scene until a chemical company truck arrived to remove the tank from the premises.

The state Department of Environmental Protection was notified of the incident, but environmental damage was determined to be minimal since the Earth’s atmosphere already contains roughly 78 percent nitrogen.

Canton police cruiser involved in crash

Interim Police Chief Joseph Perkins reports that a Canton police officer was involved in a single-vehicle crash while responding to a call on Sunday morning.

The preliminary investigation indicates that a CPD officer was on the way to a call at approximately 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, November 9, when their cruiser left the roadway as the officer attempted to navigate a turn. The cruiser then struck a utility pole in the area of 480 Neponset Street, located in an industrial park.

No other vehicles were involved. The officer was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Milton for evaluation and was later released.

The police cruiser, which sustained front-end damage, was towed from the scene and has been taken out of service. The utility company was notified and responded to inspect the pole. There were no power outages as a result of the crash.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Nov 13 2025. Filed under News, Police & Fire. Both comments and pings are currently closed.