No Injuries Reported in Ammonia Leak at Rochester Dairy Plant

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester Fire Department responded to an ammonia leak this morning.

The fire department says the incident was reported around 7:40 AM at Prairie Farms Dairy at 4219 Highway 14 west in Rochester. A news release says the first firefighters to arrive at the scene were told that initial indications were that the leak was confined to a building.

Firefighters, wearing full protective equipment and oxygen masks, successfully isolated the leaking ammonia around 8:20 AM and it was determined it was contained to a storage room. The fire department says monitors were deployed around the location to ensure that exterior ammonia levels did not reach levels that could impact the public.

At the last report, Rochester firefighters were still at the scene working with the staff of the facility to mitigate the ammonia remaining inside the building. No injuries were reported.

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Ammonia, which is commonly used as refrigerant and agricultural fertilizer, is a gas or liquid that can be extremely toxic at very low levels and flammable at higher concentrations.

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