Carbon dioxide (CO2), used at the plant for cooling, was leaking from a high-pressure line at the facility. All employees of the plant evacuated to the street and firefighters worked with plant personnel to stop the flow of CO2, said officials at the Fresno Fire Department, which got the call to the facility at 10 a.m.
One firefighter went into the cooling area to try and shut it down but was unsuccessful. And because CO2 is extremely cold, he ended up covered in ice.
By 3:30 p.m. after the all clear from the Dec. 23 incident, fire crews left the facility in southwest Fresno following the carbon dioxide leak, and employees were sent home for the day.
After several attempts at shutting off the CO2 leak, crews determined it was safest to just let the CO2 tank bleed itself out, “which might take a very long time,“ Fresno Fire Department information officer Johnathan Lopez said.
There is no threat to the surrounding neighborhood, Lopez said.
The lack of visibility and cold temperature of the gas made it difficult to determine what caused the leak.
Fire crews were going to check back in on Saturday to continue their investigation into the cause of the leak.
A cloud of CO2 hovers around Fresno firefighters as they try to contain a leak at the Foster Farms plant.
Source: Fresno Fire Department