Fire at Tyson Foods Plant Leads to Fire Crews with Chemical BurnsFire at Tyson Foods Plant Leads to Fire Crews with Chemical Burns

A fire at the Tyson Foods Plant in Berryville, AR, started around 7 p.m. Monday evening, according to a Facebook post by local news K3.

Two dozen firefighters were treated for chemical burns after battling the fire. Multiple fire units responded to the scene, including Berryville, Eureka Springs, Green Forest, and Oak Grove fire departments. Berryville police, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, and Southern EMS also assisted.

This comes just a few weeks after a woman was killed and dozens were injured from a fire at the Tyson Foods plant in Camilla, GA.

Carroll County, AR, Emergency Management Director Mike McKelvey says the cause of the fire is still undetermined. Firefighters experienced chemical burns from Caustic Soda Beads 99% and are being treated at a hospital in Berryville. Doctors say they are in stable condition. Caustic Soda Beads 99% are used for various reasons, including industrial cleaning and degreasing, water treatment and purification, chemical manufacturing and synthesis, food processing, and preparation, and in the paper and pulp industry for pulping and bleaching processes.

McKelvey says Tyson Foods had a hazmat remediation team on its way to Berryville last night. No workers appear to have been injured. There was no risk to the public outside the plant, and emergency personnel outside the “hot zone” were not treated for chemical burns. McKelvey says that the responding departments that had firefighters inside the plant had their fire gear contaminated by the chemicals. The damaged fire equipment will need to be replaced.

Related:Cocoa Plant Destroyed by Massive Fire

Tyson opened the Berryville plant in 1971.