Worker severely injured, taken to burn center after ammonia leak at Adams Co. factory

Harrison Jones, Hanover Evening Sun
Updated ·2 min read

A worker is in a burn center with severe injuries after an ammonia leak at a factory in Adams County Thursday afternoon.

According to Adams County 911 records, crews were called to a hazmat incident at Knouse Foods on the 800 block of Peach Glen-Idaville Road in Huntington Township at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Emergency crews work at the scene where a worker was severely injured from an ammonia leak at a Knouse Foods factory on the 800 block of Peach Glen-Idaville Road, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, in Huntington Township.
Emergency crews work at the scene where a worker was severely injured from an ammonia leak at a Knouse Foods factory on the 800 block of Peach Glen-Idaville Road, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, in Huntington Township.

Bendersville Community Volunteer Fire Chief Jeff Kime told the Evening Sun that crews were dispatched for a reported hazmat leak at the facility, arriving to find anhydrous ammonia leaking from a small building along the roadway separate from the main factory.

Kime said that a part had failed on a machine, and an employee was exposed to the anhydrous ammonia while attempting to shut it off. That employee was found by facility personnel laying outside of the room shortly before the fire department was called.

Firefighters arrived and immediately sprung into action, closing off the area around the leak, assuming care of the patient, and decontaminating the patient of any ammonia.

The male worker was taken to Holy Spirit Hospital, Kime said, but then was transferred to the Lehigh Valley Burn Center due to his injuries, which Kime categorized as severe in nature.

A Knouse Foods factory on the 800 block of Peach Glen-Idaville Road, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, in Huntington Township.
A Knouse Foods factory on the 800 block of Peach Glen-Idaville Road, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, in Huntington Township.

"Anhydrous ammonia is a very serious gas," Kime said, highlighting the many dangers the gas, an asphyxiant, poses.

Then, Kime said, firefighters switched into a recon mode, scouting the source of the leak. Knouse Foods operates its own on-site hazmat team, Kime said, which donned special protective gear and were able to isolate the leak while firefighters provided backup.

Firefighters methodically searched all of the facility to ensure all employees were safely evacuated, Kime said, which was one of the larger challenges of the incident due to the facility's size.

Crews from Adams County, Cumberland County, and York County had been called to the scene, including the York County Hazmat team.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Worker severely injured after ammonia leak at Adams County factory