The Phoenix Fire Department responded to an ammonia leak at the Reddy Ice facility on Saturday. Around midnight, the hazardous chemical alarm began going off. 140 employees were inside the plant when the system signaled a leak. Everyone was safety evacuated by first responders.
Phoenix Fire Capt. Evan Gammage said “It’s not something that, like a fire hose, that we can just go put out as quickly as possible. We have to move a little slower, we have to identify what the material is that we’re dealing with. Because of our fire inspectors and our alarm room, our crews had a great heads up about what they were walking into. We had alerts letting us know that they did have a 40,000-pound ammonia tank, and refrigeration system there for the Reddy ice system.”
It took crews around 12 hours to secure the leak. The Phoenix Fire Department is currently investigating the cause of the leak. No injuries were reported.
Ammonia leak at Reddy Ice facility in south Phoenix causes evacuations
