6/13/2008 – On Friday 6/13/2008 at 2223 hours, Selbyville Volunteer Fire Company Station 88, Sussex County Emergency Medical Services, and Selbyville Police Department were alerted for a HAZMAT Incident at Mountaire Farms Poultry Plant located on Hosier Street in Selbyville, DE. The Sussex County Call Board advised Deputy Chief Mark Lathbury responding as Command 88 that a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarm Activation had taken place inside the plant with four subjects ill inside the nurse’s office. Upon arriving on scene and establishing 88 Command, Deputy Chief Lathbury was advised of a possible ammonia spill with potentially 20 patients. 88 Command immediately requested additional ambulances be dispatched from nearby fire companies while SCEMS Control was alerted for a HAZMAT and MCI Incident. SCEMS HAZMAT Response Team and the DNREC HAZMAT Response Unit 3 responded to the scene, along with ambulances from Frankford VFC Station 76, Gumboro VFC Station 79, Millsboro VFC Station 83, Roxana VFC Station 90, and Bishopville (MD) VFC Station 900. Selbyville VFC personnel entered the plant wearing SCBA and obtained gas readings which indicated the incident involved a ruptured Carbon Dioxide (CO2) line on an ice machine in the packing section of the plant. SCEMS Control and responding BLS Units assessed 30 patients with 12 requiring BLS transport to area hospitals. One additional patient suffered an allergic reaction and was transported under ALS care to Beebe Medical Center. Units remained on scene until 0040 hours on Saturday 6/14/2008 when the incident was placed under control and Command was terminated.
Units on Scene: Selbyville Volunteer Fire Company Station 88, Sussex County EMS, Sussex County HAZMAT, ambulances from Frankford VFC Station 76, Gumboro VFC Station 79, Millsboro VFC Station 83, Roxana VFC Station 90, and Bishopville VFC (MD) Station 900, DNREC HAZMAT Response Unit 3, Sussex County Fire Police, Millsboro VFC Traffic Control 83, Bethany Beach VFC Traffic Control 70, and Selbyville Police Department.
Cover Up Units at Station 88: Roxana VFC Station 90 and Bishopville Station 900.
Photos by Patrick Quigley
