Tony Reid
Herald & Review, Decatur, Ill.
(TNS)
DECATUR — Five people remained hospitalized Monday after an explosion at an Archer Daniels Midland Co. soybean processing facility that shook nearby houses on the city's east side and sent smoke billowing into the sky.
Firefighters rushed to the scene on Sunday evening to find "numerous injured workers" scattered amid a scene of blasted debris and burning buildings, the Decatur Fire Department said.
In a statement, ADM said there was an explosion at 7:11 p.m. Sunday at the company's East Plant, 4666 Faries Parkway. "Five employees remain in the hospital receiving treatment for their injuries, and our priority is providing our injured colleagues and their families support," a company spokesperson said.
The East Plant, which produces soybean oil and white flake for soybean protein production, remained out of operation on Monday, as did the adjacent corn processing plant.
Firefighters said they counted eight injured workers in all as they arrived just after 7 p.m. Six were taken from the scene by ambulance, and four Medivac helicopters were used to airlift the injured to trauma centers.
In a statement, Decatur Memorial Hospital said it treated five patients from the blast. Four were transferred to Springfield Memorial Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center, and one patient was transferred to a hospital in Indiana.
The worker who was taken to Indiana was identified in online postings by his family as Yoan Heredia of Tuscola. His sister-in-law, Halle Mann, said he was being treated at a trauma burn unit in Indianapolis.
"He has second and third degree burns on his hands and his whole face," she said. "He's going to be intubated for a few days."
After the explosion, Heredia was rushed to Decatur Memorial Hospital, and he was in Indianapolis by midnight, she said. By Monday afternoon, he was being eased off of the sedation medication.
"He's been intubated from all the swelling," Mann said. "But he's recently been nodding yes and no to questions."
Mann created a GoFundMe online fundraiser (bit.ly/herediafamily) to help with expenses for the family. Heredia and his wife, Whitney, have two young children.
"But my sister just wants to make sure that prayers go out to all the employees and their families involved," Mann said.
None of the official statements about the explosion identified the victims or the nature of their injuries.
According to the fire department's statement, "the first engine company to arrive at the west side of the blast area was faced with 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.
"Rail cars hindered initial fire suppression efforts and were moved to provide access to the fire building. The first engine company to arrive on the east side of the blast area was confronted with several injured workers. They worked with ambulances on scene to treat the injured workers."
ADM provided a drone with thermal imaging capabilities which helped fire crews identify and attack fire hot spots, the statement added.
"Once exterior fires were contained, we were able to send crews into the buildings with ADM personnel to extinguish remaining fires inside the structures. Due to the extensive damage, this was a long and slow process."
The statement said no firefighters were injured during Sunday's operations but fire crews were still on scene Monday and "are currently working with ADM personnel to verify all fires are out."
Ladder trucks were used to assess the extent of the damage on the west side of the exploded building and flow water into the areas on fire and prevent flames from spreading.
"Engine 5 utilized their aerial waterway to extinguish visible fire on the east side of the building," the statement said. "Large, suspended pieces of building material presented a hazard to personnel, so the area was roped off to prevent access to these areas."
At the height of the fire, the statement said firefighters deployed five engine companies and two truck companies for a total of 33 firefighters on scene. Additional firefighters were called in to staff reserve apparatus and cover other calls within the city.
This is the third fire this year at ADM's Decatur plant. In April, three workers were injured following an apparent dust explosion in one of the grain elevators at the company's West Plant. Two weeks ago, emergency crews responded to a fire in the feed house of the company's East Plant. Two firefighters were hospitalized after battling the blaze.
___
(c)2023 the Herald & Review (Decatur, Ill.)
Visit the Herald & Review (Decatur, Ill.) at www.herald-review.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
