Selbyville – Just after 3:05 a.m. Thursday, February 9, 2017 units from the Selbyville and Frankford Volunteer Fire Companies responded to a report of a explosion at the Mountaire Farms Plant on Hosier Street in Selbyville.
The incident started at approximately 3:00 a.m.when a Mountaire employee added a chemical to a 2 gallon pump up sprayer that had the residue of another chemical inside, according to Michael Tirrell, a spokesman for Mountaire.
Tirrell said that the 2 chemicals produced a reaction that created pressure when the top was put on the sprayer. He went on to say that the sprayer broke open under the pressure and the employee was injured.
Emergency response personnel were contacted and responded immediately and the employee was transported to the hospital for treatment, according to Tirrell.
“We are making sure our employee receives the care he needs and wish him a full recovery. There was no damage to the plant and it is operating normally. We are conducting an investigation at this time. Mountaire wants to thank the first responders for their help and quick response.”, said Tirrell.
Reports from the scene indicated the man was in critical condition. Authorities were unable to airlift the man to a larger hospital due to weather.
Mountaire Farms’ website says that they are the seventh largest chicken producer, serving markets from Arizona to Asia, Miami to Moscow.They have operations in Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina and Arkansas.
