Follow the Next HazMat Event on Twitter

The events that unfolded Thursday morning at a home near Meridian & Foxworthy may or may not have affected your routine or had any impact on you whatsoever. It even remains to be seen whether the story will be front page news (on any section) in Friday’s SJ Mercury News.

When the news first broke – that authorities had closed down Valley Medical Center and evacuated a neighborhood in response to a hazardous material event – it sounded potentially dangerous and very scary. If it had been worse, you would have wanted to know about it.

Like a lot of local and national news stories, WGx first heard about it on Twitter (via a follower who had picked it up from KCBS’s twitter account). Willow Glen neighbors following @WillowGlenExtra on Twitter were next to find out about it:

• approx 11:00 am … @KCBSnews reporting home evacuations near Meridian & Foxworthy *and* ER closure at Valley Medical Ctr. scary stuff?
• approx 11:50 am … HazMat update: six homes evacuated and road closures along Foxworthy; other closures at VMC Bascom; avoid both areas
• approx 12:00 noon … Foxworthy & Yucca still closed west of Meridian; ER at VMC closed, ambulances redirected; reports of 18yo man injured; six homes evacuated
• approx 12:20 pm … chemical still unknown; 6 family members and SJPD officers at VMC for treatment; firefighters being decontaminated; hours until reopening

The chemical eventually turned out to be Hydrogen Sulfide, and the threat to the public was minimal. VMC has since re-opened to all emergency medical situations.

But what if it had been worse? You’d want to know about it quickly, right?

Using Twitter.com/WillowGlenExtra, WGx regularly forwards quick messages, news updates, traffic reports, daily weather forecasts, and other news and events. It’s part of the whole Web 2.0 Social Media stuff you’ve been reading about.

The Twitter feed also appears in the upper right corner of every WGx Page, with additional posts from the community also reappearing on The WGx Twitter News page.

To follow @WillowGlenExtra on Twitter yourself, create an account take it from there. To receive WGx Twitter updates on your cell phone (via SMS), text “Follow WillowGlenExtra” to 40404 (and confirm). That’s it!

And then you’ll be ready next time.