An explosion at a Mountaire Farms chicken processing plant in Selbyville has left one employee in critical condition.
Selbyville Volunteer Fire Company chief Matt Sliwa said the fire company and Sussex County EMS responded to a call about an explosion at Mountaire Farms at 3:06 a.m. Thursday.
An employee on cleaning detail mixed two chemicals together in a sprayer. The chemicals reacted, causing an explosion.
Sliwa said the incident reinforces the importance of reading the labels on cleaning products, whether in an industrial or home setting.
"Make sure you understand what products can be mixed with other products, and what products cannot be," Sliwa said. "In this scenario two chemicals were put in a closed container that severely reacted with each other…"
The employee was the only one hurt and was immediately transported to a hospital. Several other employees had to be decontaminated.