PEORIA, Ill. – A fire almost two days after the first explosions at the BioUrja plant near downtown Peoria could have been a lot worse for the company, and for Peoria firefighters.
Crews showed up around 1:45 p.m. Friday and saw what Interim Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger says did and didn’t remind them of Wednesday night, with initial concern about another explosion.
“We had to make a determination, really, tactically,” said Sollberger. “We hadn’t gotten that close in to the collapse zone, into that hot zone. We felt like we were dealing with something much different. So, we definitely put our firefighters in a tough spot. They mitigated that situation quickly, then got out of that collapse zone.”
The new fire was a distance down from the collapse zone where two grain bins are — one that still has either smoke or corn dust coming from it.
“Originally, it was told to us from the engineers that the mitigation efforts would start Saturday or Sunday,” said Sollberger. “What it’s going to be is…Monday or Tuesday. So, we determined at that point, considering what we had to deal with (Friday), we’re going to have fire watch down (at the plant).”
Sollberger says that means at least three firefighters hired back on standby, and likely being paid overtime, around the clock until the bins are brought down.
And, Sollberger says that means going against the “all clear” given to the Fire Department by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which continues its own investigation.
“We didn’t demand anything, but we notified the federal agency that we are the local jurisdiction. We will have a fire watch on the scene, and we’re not leaving,” said Sollberger.
Outside of the two injuries Wednesday night, no one else has been injured.
