Saputo Cheese Plant in Alto Evacuated after Chlorine Release

Employees of the Saputo Cheese plant in the Town of Alto had to be evacuated after what officials called an “unintentional
chlorine release” that happened Thursday morning.

The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office and multiple fire
departments responded to the plant just after 7:30 Thursday morning. Two workers
who were switching chlorine cylinders at the plant were exposed to the chlorine
and had difficulty breathing. Those workers were transported to Waupun Memorial
Hospital for treatment of injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
Around 125 employees of the plant were evacuated as the facility was shut down.
The employees were bused to the Alto Community Center during the evacuation. In
addition, the Sheriff’s Office says in a news release around 10 homes near the
plant were evacuated.

The Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue HAZMAT team was on scene for several hours working to manage the chlorine leak and ventilate the areas affected by the spill. The scene was cleared and all evacuations and road closures lifted shortly after 2:30 Thursday afternoon.