ROCKPORT — Emergency officials say a swift response and adherence to proper protocols helped prevent injuries when a potentially dangerous military flare washed ashore on Rockport's slice of Long Beach.

Public safety officials, including Gloucester and Rockport police, Rockport Fire Department, Rockport Harbormasters, the Coast Guard and State Police Bomb Squad responded to a mostly vacant Long Beach on a cool and foggy afternoon June 19, soon after a beach-goer found the U.S. Navy phosphorous flare smoking in the sand at 12:39 p.m. and called law enforcement.

Gloucester police were first on the scene, but quickly turned the investigation over to Rockport officials when it was determined the flare had washed up in Rockport's section of the shared beach.

Rockport Patrolman Roger Lesch said the gray cylinder, about 2 feet long and 6 inches wide, was still spewing smoke when he arrived on the scene. An officer stood by to keep people back from the canister until the bomb squad could transport it to a safe location to dispose of the device.

"We had to secure the area because of traffic and pedestrians," Lesch said, "but there were very few people on the beach that day because of the fog and rain."

Markings on the canister verified it was U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) flare, which are most often used for naval aircraft training exercises as well as to mark boundaries during search and rescue missions. The MK 58 mod 1 flare had writing on it cautioning, "Do not touch. Notify police."

According to State Police Bomb Squad member Sgt. Bill Qualls, phosphorus can cause severe burns on contact with skin.

"Once the phosphorus is dry, it could potentially spark back up again," Qualls said yesterday. "It's extremely hazardous to people picking them up and moving them, because if the phosphorus comes in contact with a person's skin, it leaves a very nasty burn mark."

Bomb Squad officers collected the cylinder and placed it into the sand-packed back of a Rockport Public Works truck. The flare was transported to the town's gravel pit and destroyed later that afternoon.

"You could feel (the impact) it in the (Police Station)," said police Chief Tom McCarthy yesterday of the detonation.

Qualls said the flares, used by the Navy and Coast Guard, are usually deployed out of an aircraft. Once exposed to air, the red phosphorus composition inside burns, giving off white smoke for 40 to 60 minutes. However, sometimes the canisters wash ashore with some flammable contents remaining that once dried, will re-ignite, as was the case in Rockport.

"They're designed to fill up with water and sink to the bottom once they've burnt out," Qualls said, "but sometimes they float to shore. It's not an explosive situation, it's more incendiary."

Qualls said the flare in Rockport is one of eight to wash up on Massachusetts beaches so far this year; on average, he said, between eight and 15 flares usually find their way onshore. It was also the second time in three years officials have had to deal with a flare on one of Rockport's beaches.

In November 2006, Beach Street was closed off from Main to King streets for a time while police removed a military flare canister that washed up at Front Beach and started discharging phosphorous gas. In that case, the State Police Bomb Squad was also called in to detonate the unit.

Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.

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