Five employees were exposed to Freon 22 (chlorodifluoromethane) after being exposed to the leaking chemical at an 25,000-square-foot ice-making warehouse and were hospitalised in critical condition with serious respiratory problems. Some firefighters suffered nausea and headaches when responding without appropriate PPE or backup (as they had not been notified that there was a leak).

A maintenance engineer noticed a cutter bar error on the computer used to monitor equipment and went into the plant to check on an alarm. He discovered the leak but was overcome by the leaking gas and a deficiency of oxygen (anoxia). He managed to call for help another maintenance engineer, who responded but was also overcome. Three other employees, supervisors or security personnel, also responded and suffered ill effects.

The company has been fined US dollars 10 000 by the OSHA for violations of employee safety regulations : the onsite employees had not been trained at even the first responder level to recognize a leak and to initiate proper emergency procedures, nor had they had appropriate hazard communication training.