Officials in the village of Rockton, Ill., near the Wisconsin border, have called for the evacuation of residents within a mile of a fire that broke out Monday morning at a chemical plant
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The Rockton Fire Protection District received the call around 7 a.m., said Chief Kirk Wilson in a media briefing. He said the fire at the Chemtool Inc. plant was already coming through the roof when the first firetruck arrived but that the 70 employees at the plant had been safely evacuated. One firefighter received a minor injury and was sent to the hospital, he said.
Mr. Johnson said department was keeping the fire from spreading but wasn’t directly battling the flames to prevent any runoff of chemicals from the plant into the nearby Rock River. The chief said the entire plant had already been consumed by the flames, but it could take several days for the oil-based lubricants manufactured at the plant to be burned off. He said the evacuation was suggested as a precaution and that air quality in the area was safe.
Local media showed images of huge flames and smoke and posted shots of the smoke and heat picked up on radar.
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