Roof partially collapses at South Jersey food facility

The roof of a commercial food facility in South Jersey partially collapsed Wednesday afternoon, resulting in minor injuries.

The collapse happened at about 1:30 p.m. at Seabrook Brothers & Sons on the unit block of Finley Road in Upper Deerfield Township, Cumberland County. Founded in the late 1970s, the company grows, processes, and freezes about 150 million pounds of vegetables a year, according to its website.

There were about 150 people inside the building at the time of the collapse, and all employees were accounted for as of Wednesday afternoon, Cumberland County Administrator Kevin Smaniotto said at a Wednesday news conference.

First responders helped remove two employees from the building, one of whom refused medical treatment. A second was sent to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment of a minor injury, and one emergency responder was also taken to a local hospital for a possible heat-related illness following the collapse, Smaniotto added.

In a message on social media, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that he had been briefed on an “explosion” at the facility that was possibly due to an ammonia leak. Ammonia is often used as a refrigerant in industrial refrigeration facilities.

The incident was initially reported to authorities as an explosion, but investigators later determined that there was no explosion, and that the building suffered a “structural collapse,” Smaniotto said. There was also a “minor ammonia release” from the facility, Smaniotto added, but there was no immediate threat to people on the area, and hazmat crews were on site assessing and mitigating any potential impacts.

Investigators were also evaluating the building’s stability, he added. It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse.