Archive for category Hazardous Materials Incident

Countryside FPD 2nd Alarm haz mat box 3-19-14

Mar 19

Posted by Admin in Hazardous Materials Incident, Motor vehicle accident, Towing and Recovery | Comments off

The Countryside FPD requested a 2nd Alarm Hazardous Materials Box this morning after a truck trailer tipped over in Vernon Hills. The Daily Herald has this information:

A section of one of central Lake County’s busiest roads was shut down for several hours Wednesday, snarling morning rush-hour motorists, after a truck’s trailer tipped over in Vernon Hills.

No one was seriously injured in the 6:20 a.m. accident on Route 60 at Butterfield Road, said Batallion Chief Kevin Wodrich of the Countryside Fire Protection District.

The truck was pulling two trailers. One of the trailers tipped onto its side as the truck was turning from southbound Butterfield Road onto eastbound Route 60, Vernon Hills police said.

The Con-way Freight truck was hauling two 300-gallon tanks of potassium hydroxide and two 300-gallon tanks of phosphoric acid, the fire department said in a news release, and the tanks leaked. A hazardous-materials team stopped the leaks so workers could clean up the mess.

Tim Olk was at the scene and submitted several images.

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

heavy wrecker tow trucks upright truck trailer

Tim Olk photo

Tags: Batallion Chief Kevin Wodrich, Countryside Fire Protection District, Ernie's Wrecker Service, hazardous materials incident in Mundelein, photos of firemen working at hazardous materials incident, Tim Olk

Chemical explosion in Alsip 12-13-13

Dec 15

Posted by Admin in Fire, Fire Scene photos, Hazardous Materials Incident | 1 Comment

The Chicago Tribune has an article on Friday’s explosion and fire at the Blue Island Phenol plant in Alsip.

Two workers were injured in an explosion and fire at a south suburban chemical plant Friday.

Smoke billowed from Blue Island Phenol in Alsip for several hours because of a chemical leak. The cause is still under investigation, fire officials said.

“I could see some vapor,” plant manager Bill Moffatt said. “I turned around to go to my office to get my coat and hard hat and other personal protective equipment. As I was walking back to my office there was a concussion. … We have a suspended ceiling in the office building, and some of the tiles fell out.”

The chemicals involved in the fire — which demolished one building and damaged a second — were propane, propylene and benzene, Alsip fire Chief Tom Styczynski said.

Two workers were burned in the explosions and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Moffatt said they were later taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where they were in stable condition. All other employees were accounted for.

About 10 firefighters worked to put out the fire, but crews from as many as 40 area fire departments and law enforcement agencies responded to act as backup in case the fire spread.

The plant’s deluge system — a type of high-volume fire sprinkler that dumps a large amount of water in an area all at once — did much to extinguish the fire, Styczynski said.

“We kept everybody outside of the plant because of the chemicals and the type of chemicals that were there,” Styczynski said.

Roads were closed, all manufacturing processes at the plant were shut down and the natural gas line to the area was shut off during the fire. Five neighboring businesses were temporarily evacuated.

The following photos were submitted by William Schreiber:

Explosion and fire at Blue Island Phenol in Alsip 12-13-13

William Schreiber photo

Tags: Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Alsip Fire Chief Tom Styczynsk, Blue Island Phenol in Alsip, explosion and fire at chemical plant, heavy black smoke from chemical plant in Alsip IL, Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, photos of fire at chemical plant

Bridgeview rollover and Haz Mat Box 11-13-13

Nov 13

Posted by Admin in Hazardous Materials Incident | Comments off

This from Keith Grzadziel:

This morning at approximately 08:15 hrs the Bridgeview Fire Department was dispatched for a report of a rollover involving a tanker on W/B 95th Street near the Tri-State Tollway exit ramps. North Palos Battalion 8, who was in the area, arrived first reporting a tanker on it’s side. The driver was treated for minor injuries and was transported to an area hospital. Bridgeview Battalion 40 requested a Level I HAZMAT Box. Companies were informed that the tanker had approximately 8500 gallons of a gasoline mix product. A special request was made for 3 additional engines and the MABAS 21 Foam Trailer. Crews had to standby while a contractor off-loaded the product prior to the towing company uprighting the truck. Numerous additional agencies assisted with the incident.

Keith Grzadziel

Keith Grzadziel photo

Tags: Bridgeview Fire Department, Keith Grzadziel, Level I HAZMAT Box, MABAS 21 Foam Trailer, rollover involving a gasoline tanker

Lincolnshire haz mat 4-23-13

Apr 23

Posted by Admin in Apparatus on-scene, Fire Service News, Fire Service Photos, Hazardous Materials Incident | Comments off

The Lincolnshire-Riverwoods FPD received a call just after 9AM on Tuesday from the Lincolnshire Marriott Hotel reporting some type of chemical accident with several employees not feeling well. First arriving units noted a chemical smell and conducted a preliminary investigation as the alarm was upgraded to bring area hazardous materials (haz mat) techs to the scene from Long Grove, Buffalo Grove, and Countryside departments.

No employees were transported to the hospital, and after learning the specific data about what were reported to be various cleaning products, an entry team entered the hotel’s service area and collected the product into two storage containers which were sealed for removal by a licensed waste hauler.

All firefighters and equipment that entered the hot zone were then decontaminated which brought the incident to a close.

Larry Shapiro submitted several images from the scene.