Three (3) Elk Grove Village Fire Department investigators, along with one from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), established that a faulty 1/4″ drain valve on a vessel level controller system caused the liquid ammonia leak at the food processing plant in Elk Grove Village, IL. The leak led to an explosion at the plant on July 7, 2017, causing nearly $30M in damages to the structure, equipment, and business. The ammonia, which was under pressure at 150 psi, leaked into an 80′ X 40′ X 20′ mechanical room, which from video footage, we can surmise there was either a lack of ventilation or the safety system (detection and interlock) failed. It took over 7 months to build a new mechanical room.
Elk Grove Fire engine 9’s crew on arrival reported heavy damage at the front of the building with a white cloud of vapor coming from inside the building.
NOTE: There is a pending lawsuit over this incident and the insurance company’s failure to pay some expenses.
As the first fire engine arrived, Northwest Central Dispatch received a call-in report of a female with chemical burns. Police were initially with the female patient — reported to be conscious and breathing. The female patient, or possibly another person (who was not seriously injured and not transported to a hospital) was initially reported to have been thrown from the blast. That information was not confirmed.
NOTE: I still have not found out what happened to the ventilation. Rumor has it that a contractor was working on the ventilation at the time of the leak as part of a construction project happening at the time of the leak, but I have not been able to confirm that by a reliable source. The investigators did not appear to have knowledge that the engine room was required to be ventilated for this very type of incident. Ignition sources are abundant inside an ammonia refrigeration engine room when the interlocks do not shut down everything.
Something sparked the ignition of that ammonia, causing a blast that ruptured the aluminum facade on the building’s west side and north loading docks. Firefighters found no flames after the initial ammonia-fueled explosion at the plant. The leaking valve was repaired and closed at about 9:30 a.m.
Initial reports indicated one employee suffered non-life-threatening injuries from the explosion, and one firefighter was also sent to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove. The Elk Grove firefighter was wearing a fully encapsulated Level A hazmat suit when he overheated. He was released from Alexian Brothers later that same morning.
Close to 100 employees were working at the plant early Friday, July 7, before the explosion. Elk Grove police said the majority of employees evacuated the building after detecting the gas leak and before the explosion.
The three Elk Grove Village Fire Department investigators and the one from the ATF remained on the scene Friday for 18-hours before returning to the scene for an additional six hours of investigative work.
Officials from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago also responded to the scene after it was discovered that ammonia leaked into the sanitary sewer system. Ammonia odor was detected emanating from at least one open-grated manhole cover south of the scene near Elk Grove Boulevard. A unit from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago arrived on the scene just before 11:00 a.m. Friday.
When firefighters first arrived on the scene, they opened a fire hydrant. A change in pressure ruptured the water main feeding that hydrant. Although the ruptured main was directly in front of Grecian Delight, Elk Grove Public Works crews were able to repair it by late morning.
Firefighters from at least 13 communities responded to the scene, including 30 firefighters qualified as hazmat technicians, in an elevated code three-alarm with a level two hazmat, fire box alarm, and ambulance box alarm.
Also responding were the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, ComEd, Nicor, the company which maintains ammonia tanks for Grecian Delights along with Cook County Sheriff’s Police and Rolling Meadows police.
INITIAL FIRE/MEDIC UNITS ASSIGNED …
ENGINE(S): E9 E8 Elk Grove Township E11
TRUCK(S): Q7 Des Plaines TL63
SQUAD(S): Hazmat 8 Chicago Hazmat 512
RIT: BC ?? T ??
CHIEF(S): BC2
EMS: A8 A10
MABAS Division 1 Box Alarm on Box #9-A for a “structure fire” (and HazMat incident) at 7:31 a.m.
EMS BOX UNITS ASSIGNED …
EMS: Bensenville FPD
Des Plaines Fire Department
Elk Grove Township Fire Department
Wood Dale Fire Department
STAGING: Elk Grove Blvd and Tonne Rd in the church parking lot.
MABAS Division 1 Box Alarm on Box #8 for relief for a HazMat incident, explosion and fire at 10:44 a.m.
RELIEF BOX UNITS ASSIGNED …
ENGINE(S): Mount Prospect Fire Department
Schaumburg Fire Department
Rolling Meadows Fire Department (RIT)
TRUCK(S): Itasca FPD
Palatine Fire Department
Grecian is asking the court for declaratory judgment forcing Great American to pay on Grecian’s partial proofs of loss. It also claims breach of contract and bad faith against the insurance company.
Grecian claims tortious interference against all four defendants regarding a contract with a vendor who provided temporary refrigeration solutions and whom Great American refused to pay. Grecian has requested a jury trial. The company is represented by John Vishneski III, Jessica E. Brown and Adrienne Kitchen of Reed Smith LLP.