An ammonia leak at the Simmons Foods plant in Siloam Springs led to the evacuation of the plant and some nearby homes, but the situation was brought under control in short order.
According to a post on the City of Siloam Springs Facebook page, the incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. on October 10. The Siloam Springs Fire Department (SSFD) was dispatched to respond to a report of a broken ammonia pipe at the plant.
SSFD, along with the Simmons hazardous materials team, were able to isolate the broken pipe and stop the leak.
A small number of homes in the area were also evacuated, but residents were soon advised that they could return to their homes once the situation was under control. The SSFD was able to return to its quarters about 3 hours after the initial call.
“The fire department and the Simmons hazmat team worked very well together to quickly isolate and stop the leak,” the city’s Facebook page read.
5 News reported that one team member experienced mile skin irritation and was given treatment, however, there was no need for anybody to be transported to the hospital as a result of the leak.
Simmons Foods informed the news outlet that the leak is being investigated.
