A massive fire broke out at a suburban chemical plant on Monday morning, sending a towering plume of smoke into the air and forcing evacuations of residents who live near the plant.
According to officials, the fire broke out at the Chemtool lubricant manufacturing facility just after 7 a.m. Monday. Firefighters on the scene began to battle the blaze almost immediately, but it spread quickly, burning up a variety of chemicals that include lead, sulfuric acid and others.
Residents who live within a mile of the plant have been asked to evacuate, and residents who live within three miles of the plant have been asked to wear masks to protect themselves from airborne particulates, according to officials.
Here are the latest headlines from the blaze:
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Rockton Residents Left With Uncertainty as Chemical Plant Fire Continues to Burn
A community is left holding its breath Monday night, as a fire continues to burn at a nearby chemical plant.
The Chemtool lubricant production plant, located in Rockton in Winnebago County, began to burn Monday morning, and 15 hours later, a cloud of smoke is still pouring from the building as a fire continues to burn.
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Now, with residents within a one-mile radius still under a mandatory evacuation order, and with residents within a three-mile radius asked to wear masks, neighborhoods are buckling in for the long haul, as authorities warn the blaze could continue for days.
Jilly Graciana lives just one quarter of a mile from the plant. She heard the blast that started the fire around 7 a.m. Monday.
“With the explosions and whatnot, you would have embers falling from the sky that were still on fire,” she said. “Since we’re going through a drought right now, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t landing on the building and it wasn’t landing on the grass.”
Residents Near Rockton Fire Share Harrowing Stories
Weather Conditions Could Force Additional Mitigations in Rockton, Officials Say
While officials say that air quality conditions at ground level are still safe amid an ongoing fire at a chemical plant in Rockton, there is some concern that overnight weather conditions could force additional mitigation measures, including “shelter-in-place” directives.
As of Monday evening, residents within one mile of the Chemtool lubricant manufacturing facility have been ordered to evacuate their homes due to concerns over airborne particulates and other chemicals that have been flung skyward by the blaze.
According to John Kim, director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, additional measures may become necessary as the air cools on Monday evening due to a weather phenomenon known as “temperature inversion.”
“When you have cooler temperatures at night, that’s going to bring some of that (airborne smoke) down through what we call a temperature inversion,” he said. “You may have a situation where at night time, depending on how cool it gets, there may need to be some additional measures put into place, like for example, possibly a shelter-in-place (order), that kind of thing.”
Residents Urged to Wear Masks Due to Airborne Particulates From Rockton Chemical Plant Fire
Residents living near a burning chemical plant in suburban Rockton are being asked to wear masks to protect themselves from airborne particulates, and are being asked not to pick up pieces of debris from the fire.
Dr. Sandra Martell, administrator of the Winnebago County Health Department, says that residents within three miles of the Chemtool lubricant manufacturing facility should wear masks to protect themselves from particulates thrown into the air by the fire, which is still burning.
“I know we recently came out of the mitigations for COVID-19, but our masks are going to help protect us as well during all this,” she said.
Officials say that monitors are being installed around the area to measure air quality.
“We’re concerned about any particulate matter at this point. Any of them can become a pulmonary irritant,” Martell said. “So what we’re talking about here is compromising your immune system. People with asthma and people with underlying respiratory conditions must be extremely cautious.”
Residents are also being asked not to pick up any debris that may have dropped from the sky after becoming airborne during the fire.
“Please do not pick up the waste that falls from the sky,” she said. “We do not know what that waste contains. Please don’t handle it with bare hands. Use a shovel, use gloves, and sequester it and keep it separate from your household waste, so that we know how to properly dispose of it.”
Why Firefighters Stopped Putting Water on Rockton Chemical Plant Fire
As a fire continues to burn at a chemical plant in suburban Rockton, officials say that they have stopped putting water on the fire, fearing that run-off could make its way into a nearby river and threaten drinking water supplies.
Kirk Wilson, chief of the Rockton Fire Protection District, says that firefighters stopped putting water on the fire, fearing that water run-off could carry chemicals into the nearby Rock River.
“We stopped some of the water suppression and some of the fire suppression, and we went ahead and let the product burn off due to the fact that the Rock River sits just west of Chemtool, (approximately) 500 yards away,” he said. “We were extremely concerned that would turn into an environmental challenge later on down the road.”
Officials say that the fire could potentially burn for several days due to the chemicals inside the plant, but that the blaze is contained to one part of the facility at this time, minimizing the risk of it spreading.
Pritzker Activates National Guard, Other State Agencies
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has activated the State Emergency Operation Center to help coordinate the response to a massive chemical fire at a plant in Winnebago County.
The fire, which forced the evacuation of residents within a two mile radius of the Chemtool lubricant manufacturing facility in Rockton, could potentially burn for days, according to officials.
Pritzker announced Monday that personnel from a slew of state agencies and departments, including the Illinois Emergency Management Association, State Police, the Illinois National Guard and the Department of Public Health, have been activated and are participating in the response to the fire.
“I am monitoring this situation closely, and will make all resources available to the surrounding communities as we work to keep people safe,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Teams from multiple state agencies are on the ground and coordinating closely with local authorities, and we will continue to make additional information available as soon as we have it.”
IDOT, The Illinois EPA, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army have also been mobilized in the area. Residents who have had to evacuate have been encouraged to seek shelter at Roscoe Middle School.
Rockton Chemical Plant Fire Could Be ‘Several-Day Event,' Fire Chief Says
The massive fire that engulfed the Chemtool plant in Rockton, Illinois, on Monday could continue to burn in a "several-day event," the village's fire chief says, revealing that crews have stopped using water to battle the blaze in order to let the chemical product burn off.
Firefighters responded to the fire at the plant, located at 1165 Prairie Hill Road, at around 7 a.m. Monday, Rockton Fire Protection District Chief Kirk Wilson said at a news conference.
When they arrived, firefighters found the fire had already burned through the roof of the building, which houses the Chemtool lubricant manufacturing facility.
"We did do air quality, we have several agencies that are assisting us right now, including the city of Rockford hazmat. They are doing air quality analysis in the area and at this point in time, there is no danger to air quality at ground level," Wilson said. "But just for a precautionary measure, we decided that it was in the best interest of community safety that we evacuated the area."
Fire officials said first responders themselves directly evacuated about 150 homes immediately surrounding Chemtool, but did not have a number of how many people may have evacuated on their own within that one-mile radius.
Massive Fire at Chemtool in Rockton Forces Evacuation
A massive fire at the Chemtool plant in Rockton, Illinois, prompted a mandatory evacuation of the area Monday morning, authorities said.
The Rockton Police Department posted an alert at around 8:46 a.m., warning that fire officials had ordered a mandatory evacuation for the area south of Chemtool, located at 1165 Prairie Hill Road.
"This notice affects all residents and business south of Chem Tool on Prairie Hill rd. Traffic is advised to avoid area," the alert reads. "Please evacuate the area. Wait for further instructions."
Firefighters responded to the fire at the plant at around 7 a.m. Monday, Rockton Fire Protection District Chief Kirk Wilson said at a news conference. Rockton is located roughly 13 miles north of Rockford.
When they arrived, firefighters found the fire had already burned through the roof of the building, which houses the Chemtool lubricant manufacturing facility.
About 70 Chemtool employees on site evacuated the building before firefighters arrived, Wilson said, with no injuries reported among the employees. Wilson said one firefighter sustained what seemed to be minor injuries but was able to walk to an ambulance and was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Fire officials created an evacuation zone with a one-mile radius, authorities said.
