Residents Confined To Homes During Ammonia Leak In Southington

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Residents of a section of Southington were confined to their homes Sunday night because of an ammonia leak.

Fire officials said they received several 911 calls from Elizabeth Drive just before 8 p.m. and pinpointed the leak to 93 Industrial Drive, where Ammonia was used regularly. Residents within a mile-and-a-half of the address were advised to stay inside, close their windows and turf off their air conditioning units via an emergency alert system and door-to-door visits.

Not only was an odor prevalent when emergency crews arrived, but thermal imaging cameras detected a plume venting from the roof of the building, fire officials said. Firefighters then found a tank leaking inside the building.

The intersection of Captain Lewis Drive and West Queen Street was blocked off during the incident. The shelter-in-place order was lifted after about two hours, fire officials said.

Representatives from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security were at the site assisting the investigation.

The exact cause is still under investigation, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.