ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. -- Investigators are looking into what caused an explosion at a suburban food facility in elk grove village.
Elk Grove fire investigators say there was ammonia leak at the Grecian Delight Food plant early Friday morning. That ammonia came into contact with something that caused an explosion in a part of the plant that was under construction.
The blast blew out a wall of the plant, and also ruptured a water main.
One hundred workers were inside at the time, but they all made it out safely.
A female plant worker who was burned and a male hazmat worker are being treated in the hospital.
Fire officials say it could have been much much worse.
===============
2 injured in ammonia explosion at Chicago-area food plant
Published 1:42 pm, Friday, July 7, 2017
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (AP) — Authorities in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village say an ammonia explosion heavily damaged a food processing plant and injured two people.
Elk Grove Village Fire Chief Richard Mikel says a "tremendous amount of damage" was caused at the Grecian Delight Foods plant on Friday morning. He says the blast happened about 7 a.m., blowing out two of the building's outer walls. Crews were able to stop the leaking chemical a few hours later. The cause of the blast is under investigation.
Mikel says about 100 workers were present at the time but no one was near the explosion because it was located in a section of the building that's under construction.
Officials say one female employee and a hazmat worker were taken to area hospitals with injuries that weren't life threatening.
=====================
Friday, July 07, 2017 01:04PM
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (WLS) -- An ammonia leak and powerful explosion blew out the side of a food processing plant in northwest suburban Elk Grove Village Friday morning and left one employee injured.
Firefighters, police and a hazardous materials crew responded to Grecian Delight Foods, Inc., in the 1200-block of Tonne Road. Large pieces of the wall on the west side of the building had been blown out.
"There was a release of ammonia inside of the factory here. The ammonia reached an ignition source. There's significant damage to the front wall of the building that's been blown out, as well as the north side of the building," Elk Grove Village Fire Chief Richard Mikel said.
A neighbor, who did not want to go on camera, said she heard a loud boom just after 7 a.m.
"I looked at my roof, thinking something fell on the roof, but there was nothing up there. Periodically, there is a foul odor coming from that place, in the middle of the night, where I need to close my windows," she said.
Witnesses said they saw around 100 employees run out of the building to escape the flames. They all got out safely. The neighborhood did not have to be evacuated.
A female worker sustained burns to her face, but her injuries were not considered life-threatening. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.
A member of the hazmat team was also taken to the hospital, for exhaustion.
The explosion also caused a water main break in the area. Grecian Delight's parking lot flooded Friday morning.
The water main break and ammonia leak were both contained before 11 a.m. The hazmat crew was still on the scene, ventilating the building. Workers had not been allowed back in.
Mikel said there was construction going on in the area at the time of the blast, but officials have not confirmed the exact cause of the ammonia leak and explosion.
Grecian Delight manufactures Greek and Mediterranean food. The company was founded in 1974.