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Chemtool factory fire could take DAYS to burn out after huge fireball explosion at Illinois chemical plant
THE fire at a Chemtool factory could take days to burn out after a huge fireball explosion at the Illinois chemical plant on Monday.
Authorities said they are going to allow to burn out on its own, rather than use water and risk chemical runoff spilling into the nearby Rock River.
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Miraculously, no workers were injured in the factory fire in Rockton, Illinois.
Fire crews rushed to the at around 7am local time after reports of smoke from the building.
Shocking footage showed the plant explode into flames as the air filled with thick black smoke that could be seen up to 25 miles away, reports.
The Ogle County Sheriff said that smoke covered a third of the county as of 11am and could even be seen from space.
One firefighter was treated for injuries but approximately 70 staff members managed to escape from the building unharmed.
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Workers who were inside the plant were notified of the fire and were able to safely evacuate the building.
A one-mile radius of is now in mandatory, full-scale evacuation due to possible dangerous chemicals being released, according to the Rockton Fire Chief.
As of late Monday, around 1,500 people who lived within five blocks of the plant had been evacuated,
Fire Chief Kirk Wilson said that it could take several days for the oil-based fire to burn off.
Rockton Middle School and Roscoe Middle School are being used as shelters.
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It is unclear what sparked the initial explosion, according to the company that owns the Chemtool plant.
The Lubrizol Corporation said in a statement it had not yet confirmed what was behind the fire.
“At approximately 7am today, local emergency personnel responded to a fire at the Lubrizol Corporation’s Chemtool Facility in Rockton, Ill," it said.
"We have confirmed all on site are safe and accounted for. Our concern right now is for the safety of all our employees and the surrounding community.
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"As a precaution, authorities have evacuated residents in a one-mile radius of the site.
"We do not yet know what caused this incident, but we will be working with local authorities and with our own risk management team to determine what happened and identify any corrective actions," the statement added.
Chemtool is a "premium manufacturer of grease in the Americas,” according to its website.
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