BREAKING: Hazardous materials incident from Perdue prompts shelter in place order in Georgetown – 47abc

GEORGETOWN, Del. – Georgetown Police have issued an alert advising area residents to shelter in place due to a hazardous materials incident stemming from the local Perdue plant.

According to the Georgetown Fire Company, as of 7 p.m., Wednesday fire crews, Sussex County public safety personnel, DNREC officials, and members with the Delaware State Fire School were on the scene of a hazardous materials incident at the Perdue processing plant on Savannah Road in Georgetown.

While details remain limited at this time, officials are emphasizing the need for the immediate area, within a half-mile radius of the Perdue plant, to shelter in place and stay inside until further notice.

WMDT’s Rob Petree spoke to Georgetown Mayor Bill West who said the incident stemmed from two chemicals being mixed together at the facility.

“We’ve had somebody mix two chemicals together at the Perdue plant that has put off a smell,” Mayor West explained. “We’ve got a chemist in route to tell us what they are and if there’s anything we need to do.”

Mayor West urged area residents to abide by the order and not go outside for the time being.

“Hopefully, it’ll be chemicals just to do some cleaning and it won’t affect people, but we just wanted to put the alert out to tell people to shelter inside, and stay there until they get the second alert that everything’s ok. Just stay inside until we get a handle on this because we know that the wind is pushing the smell and people are concerned.”

Details still remain limited at this time when it comes to the nature of what those chemicals are, but the shelter in place order remains in effect for that area. We will of course bring you the latest as soon as additional information is made available.