ROCKTON, Ill. (WAND) - Authorities are continuing to ask people who have been evacuated from a Rockton chemical plant fire to stay away Monday evening.
Early Monday, flames engulfed the Chemtool plant in Rockton. At about 7 a.m., firefighters responded to 1165 Prairie Hill Road, the location of the plant, and began their attack. Responders evacuated a one-mile radius around the plant as a precaution, with first responders directly evacuating about 150 homes in the immediate area of Chemtool, Rockton Fire Protection District Chief Kirk Wilson said in a press conference.
About 70 Chemtool employees had evacuated before responders arrived, with no injuries among the employees. A firefighter suffered what seemed to be minor injuries and went to a hospital for treatment by ambulance.
In a 5 p.m. update Monday, Wilson said residents in the one-mile radius around the plant were still asked to stay away from their homes. A return time was unclear, but Wilson noted air quality checks are continuing.
Wilson called what happened a "catastrophic day" for the Rockton community.
"We've lost a very well-known business," Wilson said. "Our hearts are with those employees that are currently unemployed."
An evacuation point was set up earlier Monday at Roscoe Middle School.
The Northwest Illinois Red Cross volunteer team responded to the scene of the fire early Monday to help with providing meals, snacks and beverages for the approximately 200 first responders involved in battling the fire. The American Red Cross opened a reception center at the middle school, located at 6121 Elevator Road, for those who need a place to go after homes were evacuated.
People at the shelter can access meals, snacks, water and disaster support services, Red Cross officials said in a statement.
In response to the fire, Gov. JB Pritzker activated the Illinois National Guard, the Illinois State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield and other resources.
The governor said the following state agencies and organizations are responding to Rockton:
- Illinois Emergency Management Agency
- Illinois State Police
- Illinois Department of Transportation
- Illinois Department of Public Health
- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
- Office of State Fire Marshal
- Illinois National Guard
- Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS)
- American Red Cross
- Salvation Army
“I am monitoring this situation closely and will make all resources available to the surrounding communities as we work to keep people safe,” said Pritzker. “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 we have it. To those impacted, please listen to guidance from emergency officials and know that the state of Illinois is doing everything possible to protect you and your loved ones.”
The IEMA has activated the Radiological Emergency Assessment Center and Illinois National Guard Civic Support Team to monitor the environment and monitor air to validate plume modeling. These teams make environmental recommendations to keep the public safe, the governor's office said.
The Emergency Management Agency at the state and federal level also responded to Rockton.
According to Wilson, responders are no longer using water in their response in order to prevent an "environmental nightmare" that could come from product runoff into the Rock River, which is about 300 meters away from the plant.
"At this point in time the building is pretty much consumed, we're thinking that this is going to be a several-day event to have all this product burned off," Wilson said. "And that's the best thing that we can do right now."
NBC Chicago reports the response to this fire includes about 40 to 45 agencies from Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Fire personnel on the scene involves 150 to 175 people.
