McCain Foods officials are searching for the cause of a partial roof collapse at the Florenceville plant over the weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, the roof over a cold storage unit at the plant crumbled into the facility, said Calla Farn, McCains' director of corporate affairs, government and public relations. She said the cause of the incident is still under investigation, but it is believed the collapse is the result of [resulted in, PvE] leaking ammonia used in the facility's refrigeration units.
"(And) it appears as if snow may have been a contributing factor,"added Farn.
The facility was quickly evacuated on Saturday and employees sent home, said Farn.
While there were no injuries on Saturday, Farn confirmed one member of the McCain fire brigade was taken to the Upper River Valley Hospital by ambulance on Sunday afternoon after inhaling ammonia vapours. He was treated and later released. No other injuries were reported.
"We take the safety of our employees, the community and protecting the environment very seriously,"said Farn. "This is a very rare and isolated incident. All of our employees are safe. Work crews are working closely with the appropriate authorities to ensure that the small amounts of ammonia being vented from the facility pose no risk to the community or the environment. There appears to have been no environmental impact to date, and the situation continues to be closely monitored."
As an added precautionary measure, Farn said, the manufacturing plants and storage areas were closed and remained closed over the weekend.
On Monday, Farn said the plants were still not in operation.
"The manufacturing plants are closed today (Monday),"she said. "However, construction is continuing on our new French fry plant.
