CHESTER, ILL. • Four people were injured, three of them seriously, in an explosion Tuesday afternoon at a grain mill here.
Chester fire Capt. Marty Bert said the blast happened about 4 p.m. in one of several grain silos at the ConAgra mill in the 100 block of Water Street, along the Mississippi River. The four injured workers were employed by a contractor, West Side Salvage, that was cleaning out a silo at the mill for ConAgra, officials said.
Grain dust in a silo can become combustible, but the cause of the blast remained under investigation Tuesday evening.
Bert said that when firefighters arrived, workers had already evacuated everyone from the silo. The three who were seriously hurt were flown to hospitals in 51ºÚÁÏ that have burn units, which Memorial Hospital in Chester lacks, Bert said. The other injured worker was taken to Memorial Hospital.
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Rescue workers from several fire departments in Illinois and Missouri responded to the blast in the river town about 50 miles south of 51ºÚÁÏ.
Randolph County Sheriff Fred Frederking was at the scene Tuesday evening. He said he was told that the silo where the blast occurred had about 6 feet of old soybean meal at the bottom. He said it was his understanding that the contractors were clearing that silo when the blast occurred.
Officials said there were flames coming from fans at the bottom of the silo when firefighters arrived, and the blast had blown the top off the silo.
Water was sprayed on the silo as smoke wafted out for several hours after the blast. Bert said firefighters were trying to prevent another explosion or fire.
"The main thing is if we can get water in there, then there's less chance of an explosion," Frederking said. "The idea is to really soak that grain."
Bert said farmers bring grain to the mill, which then sends much of it to local food maker Gilster-Mary Lee. Mill owner ConAgra Foods makes many name brands, including Healthy Choice, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters and Banquet.
While Frederking said there had been some small fires or explosions at the ConAgra mill in the past, this was the most serious one he could recall.
Bert also said he had no memory of major incidents at the plant. He said the blast did not require any evacuations beyond the mill, but traffic on a nearby railroad was halted.
