A faulty commercial refrigeration unit at a Riverside warehouse caused an ammonia leak Friday that left more than a dozen people suffering from exposure-related illness.
The hazardous materials emergency was reported shortly before 6 a.m. Friday at a facility in the 1000 block of Columbia Avenue, near Iowa Avenue, on the eastern edge of the city, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst said that two engine crews, a truck company and a hazmat unit, numbering about 20 personnel, were sent to the location and “found employees evacuating.”
Vanderhorst said that a cold-storage compartment broke down, leading to ammonia fumes permeating the facility.
The hazmat unit isolated the defective mechanism, while paramedics treated 17 people who complained of ill effects from exposure to the fumes, according to the battalion chief.
He said that eight people, all of whom were in stable condition, required evaluation at a Riverside hospital. The other workers recovered on site.
County Department of Environmental Health inspectors coordinated with fire department personnel and management of the business in securing the building and initiating repairs, Vanderhorst said.
The operation was completed by 7:30 a.m.