ST. LOUIS — Firefighters and crews in hazmat suits responded Tuesday morning to an ammonia leak at Imo's Pizza Headquarters in downtown St. Louis.
Crews responded sometime around 4 a.m. Monday to the Imo's location at 800 North 17th St., near the City Museum.
According to the St. Louis Fire Department, a small leak on the roof from the refrigeration system got back into the building through the ventilation system. Maintenance shut down the system until repairs could be made.
No injuries were reported.
Delmar Boulevard was shut down due to the strong fumes. Even from a car with its windows rolled up a block away from the building, the fumes were overwhelming, according to 5 On Your Side crews at the scene.
St. Louire Fire Capt. Dave Neighbors said there was a "relatively low reading" of ammonia, so a maintenance crew was able to fix the problem without issues. Fire crews had left the scene by 10 a.m.
Exposure to high levels of ammonia in the air can be irritating to your eyes, skin, throat and lungs and cause coughing and burns, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of exposure to higher levels of ammonia include:
- Abdominal pain.
- Coughing.
- Coughing up white to pink-tinged fluid (sign of pulmonary edema).
- Blistering of skin.
- Burning sensation in the nose, throat, lungs and eyes.
- Frostbite if exposed to liquified ammonia.
- Narrowing of the throat and swelling.
- Nausea.
- Permanent or temporary blindness.
- Skin pain.
- Skin redness.
- Vomiting.
According to Imo's website, the St. Louis-based pizza chain relocated its headquarters and franchise operation in 2016 to the 72,000-square-foot warehouse and 10,000-square-foot office downtown.
This is a breaking news story. 5 On Your Side will update it as more information becomes available.