Firefighters responding to a fire at the Tyson plant in Berryville, Ark., were sent to the hospital when their gear began to deteriorate.
Multiple news agencies report that 25 firefighters from four fire departments were treated and released when they reported their PPE breaking down and feeling burning sensations.
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“One of the guys started feeling a bit of a burning sensation,” Carroll County Emergency Manager Mike McKelvyn told 5News. “At that point, we noticed that some of the gear was deteriorating, so we immediately halted any more operations.”
The chemical that caught fire was sodium hydroxide, or 99% caustic soda beads. The chemical beads are used for industrial cleaning and degreasing, water treatment and purification, chemical manufacturing and synthesis, food processing and preparation, and pulping and bleaching processes in the paper and pulp industry.
Tyson dispatched a hazmat remediation team.
The fire was reported around 7 p.m. January 15 and was out by 10 p.m.
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