3 people overcome by fumes from burst pipe at Detroit factory
Posted: Aug 06 2018 06:15PM EDT
DETROIT, MI (WJBK) - A burst chemical pipe at a Detroit factory caused a HAZMAT situation Monday.
Three people including two Detroit police officers were rushed to the hospital because of fumes.
"We were scared, we got dressed and we were ready to go," said Charmaine Ford. "Especially when we saw it was a HAZMAT 2 situation."
At about 9 a.m. Monday there was an explosion at Intrastate Distributors right across the street from Ford's house on Exeter Street near State Fair on Detroit's east side.
"It's a distribution company, so you have dry products that come in and then transfer those products from one location to another location," said Lt. Clarence Watts, Detroit Fire Department.
One of those products is Towne Club Soda. The burst pipe caused ammonia to leak at high levels and employees were evacuated.
Two Detroit policers and a 57-year-old male employee taken to an area hospital due to fumes.
"There wasn't enough chemical to lead to an immediate evacuation of the area," Watts said.
Charmaine and her sons not taking any chances, staying indoors.
At times emergency crews dealing with the hazmat situation were forced to take breaks in the extreme heat. The leak was contained late morning and Intrastate Distributors remained closed for the day. The company declined to talk to FOX 2 about the incident.
A fire official told FOX 2 the people who were hospitalized are okay.Meanwhile, authorities are working to determine the cause of the explosion and the ammonia leak.
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A beverage distribution plant on Detroit's east side reported a chemical leak Monday morning on the 20000 block of Exeter.
Fire Department Lt. Clarence Watts said the building was closed and 15 employees were sent home as investigators looked for the cause of the leak.
Watts said the building houses a company that distributes Towne Club beverages, and has dry goods and liquids stored on the premises.
He said the Fire Department received a call from the company’s employees about the leak at about 9:15 a.m. Monday.
Fire officials said the level of danger wasn’t enough to warrant evacuating the surrounding neighborhood.
Fire crews had to wait to enter the plant because hazmat crews had to determine whether it was safe.
The leak may have been caused by a leaky or broken pipe, said Dave Fornell, deputy commissioner of the department.
It's considered a level two hazmat situation, which according to the National Fire Protection Association, is "an incident involving hazardous materials that is beyond the capabilities of the first-responders on the scene and could be beyond the capabilities of the public-sector responders having jurisdiction," which "can pose immediate and long-term risk to the environment and public health."
Two police officers and a worker were treated at Detroit Receiving Hospital after being exposed, Fornell said. Their conditions were not available Monday night.
At one point, officers asked a TV news helicopter to fly over a certain part of the building so they could watch the livestream and get a better view of the roof.
The facility is operated by Intrastate Distributors. No one at the company could immediately be reached for comment Monday evening.
Sonya Lofton said she heard a TV news helicopter flying over the area and came to the area.
Lofton said she has seen trucks frequently arriving and leaving at the soda factory. She said she didn’t hear any explosions or smell any unusual odors and was surprised to learn about the chemical leak.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in the neighborhood before,” she said.