Louisville-Louisville Fire Department officials say as of late last week the cause had not been determined and the investigation is continuing into the release of an undetermined amount of anhydrous ammonia at American Cold Storage the afternoon of May 13 that claimed the lives of two maintenance workers. Spokesman Sgt. Salvador Melendez said fire personnel remained on the scene into early last week making sure everything was safe for the investigators and cleanup crews. Melendez confirmed that it was a major incident for the department, which was joined by multiple agencies at the industrial center site, where the building already had been evacuated by more than a dozen employees. He said the two victims apparently were the only ones left and were in an area that was reported at one point to be so thick in vapor that it was difficult to see. A Cold Storage supervisor told the press that the men “weren’t working on the ammonia itself, so we don’t know what happened.” Melendez wasn’t sure how much was released, but he said the company reported that the system contained 8,000 pounds of ammonia. Firefighters in hazmat gear located one man on the ground almost immediately, but had to retrieve the other from a scissor lift using another lift. Both men had to undergo decontamination before being transported to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
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