TAMPA, Fla. — Emergency crews responded around 10:45 a.m. Thursday to what was originally dispatched as a "possible explosion and ammonia leak" at a business in Hillsborough County.
Fire officials have since confirmed there were no injuries and said there was "a loud bang" — not an explosion at Americold Logistics, a cold storage facility on Maple Lane near US-301. That bang was caused by a leak of anhydrous ammonia, which is used for refrigerant, according to investigators.
"There was not an explosion, they evacuated the building and called the fire department as part of our safety protocols," Angie Hansen, a spokesperson for Americold confirmed to 10 Tampa Bay. "All team members are safe."
Fire officials do not believe there is any danger to the public and said the incident was reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Deputies helped Hillsborough County Fire Rescue at the scene. The building was evacuated as a safety measure. About 25 people living in a nearby mobile home park were also temporarily asked to leave the area, as a precaution. They have since been allowed to return to their homes.
Steve Bokas, who manages the mobile home park, helped families evacuate.
When asked what was going through his mind as he was helping people evacuate during the week of Christmas, he said, "you know, it's a tough situation. You've got to help them out. I grabbed some presents for some people that had their kids. Another tenant that just had twins, I took her over to a shopping center."
An employee at a nearby auto repair shop described seeing a "whole bunch" of paramedics, fire trucks and sheriff's cars during the morning. Alarms could be heard going off for about two hours, the worker said.
