CORRECTIONS OFFICER HONORED FOR RESCUE LUNGS HARMED BUT OTHERS HELPED.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

CASTAIC - As his co-workers were overcome with poisonous gases created by a toxic combination of spilled cleaning agents, a Pitchess Detention Center custody assistant rushed into the deadly cloud to save them.

Because of his training, Bill Kimble knew he was risking permanent damage to his health from hazardous chemicals - and he suffered it - but nevertheless came to the aid of his co-workers, said Sheriff's Department Detective Bureau Commander Michael Soderberg.

``He was severely injured to save other people's lives, and that to me is a hero,'' said Soderberg, who was captain of the South Facility when the toxic spill occurred there in April 1998.

Kimble was recently honored for his swift actions by the International Association of Correctional Officers, which named him a finalist for the Correctional Officer of the Year Award.

``I'm still flying on cloud nine,'' said the 51-year-old Castaic resident. ``This is a really big honor for me - to be recognized by this international group.''

Officials said Kimble and Soderberg were among eight Pitchess employees who suffered permanent lung damage in the incident that sent more than a dozen employees to the hospital.

The toxic gases formed after inmates cleaning the dining room unwittingly combined Comet and Lime Away, Kimble said. The mixture then spilled outside and pooled directly under the air-intake vent, he said.

Clouds of poisonous chlorine and phosphene gases were sucked into the ventilation system and discharged into the administrative offices, Kimble said.

``At first it just had kind of a heavy smell, like a bathroom that's just been cleaned,'' recalled Soderberg. ``When I started coughing and my throat closed, I knew something was wrong.''

Some employees lost consciousness and collapsed in their offices, Soderberg said.

Kimble quickly put his hazardous-materials training to use. He found the source of the gases, helped evacuate the building and brought in large fans to ventilate the offices.

His supervisor at the detention center, Sgt. Don Golding, said Kimble has had more training than most personnel in uses and dangers of hazardous chemicals. ``That really paid off that day,'' Golding said. ``He's the facility hero.''

After the incident, Pitchess officials immediately replaced all cleaning chemicals at the facility with nontoxic, biodegradable products, Golding said.

``We'd had training in what kinds of cleaning agents not to combine, like ammonia and bleach,'' Golding said. ``But what happened was one shift used one thing, and the next shift used something else, and the combination produced some pretty deadly gases. Now there's no chance we can make that mistake again.''

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(color) Custody Assistant Bill Kimble has been honored for leading rescue work at the Pitchess Detention Center in a hazardous-chemicals accident.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News