De Soto Panasonic plant evacuated after chemical reaction, company investigating
Employees at Panasonic’s De Soto plant were evacuated from the facility after a chemical reaction triggered a fire suppression system Tuesday morning.
Fire Chief Todd Maxton with the Northwest Consolidated Fire District said fire crews were called to the plant around 6:30 a.m. after a chemical reaction involving battery materials created enough heat and smoke to activate a fire suppression system. That system worked as designed to handle the “thermal event,” Maxton said.
“If there’s anything not performing as expected, their systems pick it up,” he said.
“They’ve got a cooling system and their fire suppression system that takes care of that,” he said. “It contains it, and it remained contained the entire time.”
Fire and Panasonic crews worked to deal with the issue and move the materials out of the building, Maxton said. No injuries were reported.
In a written statement , Panasonic described the incident as a “thermal event.”
“All employees were evacuated and no injuries have been reported,” the statement said. “At this time, employees have been given all clear to re-enter the facility. An investigation is ongoing.”
