Firefighters called back to scene of ADM explosion to battle hot spots

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Fire restarted up at ADM Wednesday following the explosion Sunday that left eight employees injured.

The Decatur Fire Department was back out at the East Plant attending to hot spots Wednesday.

ADM said in a statement:

"This morning during a walk-through of the East plant, an employee noticed smoke. Out of an abundance of caution, we evacuated the immediate area and called the fire department for support to investigate. Employees are now safe to return to the area. We are taking extra precaution to ensure the safety of the area and wanted to keep employees informed about the issue and resolution.

As we continue the process to assess the damage to our processing complex in Decatur and begin the process to restore operations, our priority remains offering to support our four injured colleagues who remain in the hospital as well as their families. One colleague has been released."

As ADM said, four of the eight people who were hurt in the explosion are still hospitalized.

The Decatur Fire Department confirms eight people were hurt, with six of those people being transported to the hospital by ambulance after the explosion shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday.

Four Medivac helicopters were used to air lift the injured from Decatur Memorial Hospital to trauma centers for higher level of care.

One person refused treatement at the scene. Another person arrived at the hospital by unknown means, the fire department added.

ADM sent WAND News an updated statement Tuesday night saying:

"As we continue the process to assess the damage to our processing complex in Decatur and begin the process to restore operations, our priority remains offering to support our four injured colleagues who remain in the hospital as well as their families. One colleague has been released. We are also providing counseling resources to colleagues on-site.

We are in the process of restarting operations at the corn plant and expect to resume normal operation levels in the coming days.

Raw material production capabilities at the East plant were impacted by the explosion. No damage occurred in the protein production area of the plant, and we are able to source raw materials from alternative facilities. We expect to restart the majority of protein production at the facility in the coming weeks. We will also leverage our vast transportation and origination network to meet customer needs until we can resume full operations at the plant.

Our investigation into the cause is ongoing."

DFD was called to the explosion at 7:12 p.m. Sunday.

The first arriving fire truck was led back to the area of the blast and found numerous injured workers and severe damage to a couple of buildings.

The Battalion Chief upgraded the alarm to a 2nd alarm while enroute due to the reports being received.

Crews arriving at the west side of the blast area found debris scattered over a wide area.

The fires were burning in an approximately 10-story building with adjoining buildings to the north and south. The building to the west of this area also suffered severe damage.

>>OSHA responding to the scene, opening investigation into ADM explosion

Rail cars had to be moved to allow the fire department to access the building.

Ladder trucks were set up on the west side of the explosion building to assess damage and flow water into the burning areas.

Large, hanging pieces of building material were putting firefighters at risk. So, the area was roped off to prevent access to those areas.

ADM used a drone with thermal imaging to assess remaining hot spots with real time imagery.

Once the exterior fires were contained, the fire department was able to send crews into the buildings with ADM personnel to extinguish remaining fires inside the buildings.

No firefighters were injured.

At approximately 2:00 a.m. the fire department reduced the number of trucks on scene to one fire company. They are currently working with ADM personnel to verify all fires are out.

ADM was evacuated as a result of the explosion. The fire department said no private homes were evacuated.

The Decatur Fire Department reported the fire is under control, but a crew remained on scene Monday morning to monitor any hot spots.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Governor JB Pritzker said, "Our hearts are with the families of those affected by the explosion in Decatur last night. My administration is in touch with those at ADM and have offered state support in any way we can. Wishing a speedy recovery for the workers."

Rep. Nikki Budzinski said in a tweet, "My team and I are in touch with local officials as we closely monitor the situation at ADM this evening."

This is the third fire reported at ADM this year.

In April, three employees were injured in an explosion at ADM's west plant.

Last month, two Decatur firefighters were hurt while battling a third-alarm fire at the east plant.

This is a developing story. WAND News will post more as soon as it becomes available.