Chemical explosion at Illinois plant injures firefighters, forces evacuation of more than 100 homes and businesses

Scores of people were forced to flee from their homes and businesses while some responding firefighters were injured during a massive chemical blaze at a facility in Illinois that was only just recently inspected.

The fire at Chemtool, sparked by a huge explosion on Monday, prompted an evacuation order for anyone within a one-mile radius shortly after the flames were reported around 7 a.m. An estimated 125 homes and businesses have been impacted, WFIR reported.

While all 70 workers at the facility managed to escape without harm, two firefighters suffered minor injuries while responding to blaze, which continued to burn well into Tuesday. Clean-up efforts continued throughout the day, with street sweepers making their way across the city as residents picked up debris by hand.

“The building is pretty much consumed,” Rockton Fire Chief Kirk Wilson told reporters. “We’re thinking that this is going to be a several-day event to have all of this product burned off. And that’s the best thing we can do right now.”

Wilson added that using water could bring dangerous runoff into the Rock River, a Mississippi River tributary outside of the plant. On Tuesday, teams trained in industrial fires set up barriers to protect the water and hit the fire with a special foam to better control it.

Bob Snyder, the vice president of operations at Chemtool’s parent company, Lubrizol Corporation, during a press conference regarding the massive fire, said their focus would be on helping the community recover.

“We’re going to do everything we can to do the right thing and support, not only Chief Wilson and all the other resources in terms of addressing the fire and affecting the right emergency response, but also in supporting the community in the aftermath of the cleanup,” Snyder said.

“We apologize to the people that had to be evacuated whose property and other things may have been impacted by the fire.”

Officials said it’s still not clear what sparked the fire at Chemtool, which produces greases, lubricants, metal working fluids and cleaners, among other products. The incident remained under investigation.

The blaze comes just weeks after federal investigators from the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the plant. The visit on May 20 was triggered by a complaint, the nature of which remained unclear.