An explosion caused by an ammonia leak at a food manufacturing plant Friday morning in Elk Grove Village caused two people to be hospitalized, forced the evacuation of dozens of workers and impacted businesses throughout the area, officials said.
The explosion occurred about 7 a.m. at Grecian Delight Foods in the 1200 block of Tonne Road, Elk Grove Fire Chief Richard Mikel said. The blast blew out walls and windows on the west and north sides of the plant.
More Top Picks Best Office Chairs For Tall People
Hazmat technicians and fire crews worked throughout the day Friday to clear hazardous ammonia vapors from the plant and the immediate surrounding area. Mikel said authorities had stopped the leak, but it was still unknown what caused the leak and the ammonia to ignite.
One employee at the facility was burned during the blast and was transported to AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, Mikel said. A hazmat technician was also transported to the hospital due to medical issues caused from being inside a hazmat suit, he said.
Officials said about 100 people were working at the time of the explosion and evacuated the plant.
Large fans mounted on trucks surrounded the north and west sides of the facility Friday morning and afternoon in an effort to dissipate the hazardous ammonia vapors. Police and fire crews from multiple agencies were stationed along the north and south sides of Tonne Road.
Tonne Road was closed to pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic between Elk Grove Boulevard/Touhy Avenue and Landmeier Road. To the east of the facility, Touhy and Estes avenues between Tonne Road and Lively Boulevard were also blocked off by police.
Mikel said independent contractors had been working on the portion of the facility where the leak and the blast occurred, but he declined to say whether authorities suspect the contractors had anything to do with the leak.
Mikel said authorities wouldn’t be able to determine the cause of the blast until the ammonia vapors dissipated. That process was taking a long time in part because the ammonia mixed with water in the facility and the water was slowly releasing the vapors, he said.
According to the company’s website, Grecian Delight is a manufacturer and marketer of Greek and Mediterranean food and was founded in 1974.
The impact on Chicago’s Greek restaurants was expected to be minimal, at least according to restaurateurs’ initial reports.
Nick Anastopoulos, owner of Johnny’s Beef and Gyros in Lincoln Park, has family ties to Grecian Delight executives and gets food supplies from the company. He said there won’t be an immediate lack of food because he just received a delivery Thursday.
“We’re lucky there,” he said.
Andrew Koliopoulos, owner of The Works in Glenview, said that he spoke to a contact at Grecian Delight on Friday afternoon and was told that supplies to customers would not be interrupted.
“It was just a small explosion, everything’s fine I think,” he said.
Several adjacent commercial facilities were evacuated following the explosion, but the residents along Tonne Road were able to remain in their homes, Mikel said.
Ken Anselmo, who lives to the west of Tonne Road on Bianco Drive, said he was outside when he heard the blast.
“About 7 a.m., I heard a big boom,” he said. “At first I thought it was a truck that backed into something and I came out to find an explosion had blown out the windows.”
Anselmo, who has lived in the neighborhood for four decades, said his neighbor told him the explosion shook his home. He said emergency responders “were on the ball right away.”
“As soon as I heard the explosion, I heard fire trucks coming. It was that quick. That’s when I knew it was something big,” Anselmo said.
Andrea Mayer said she was unable to go to work Friday at Yamasho, Inc., a Japanese food distributor, located to the east of the Grecian Delight plant on Touhy Avenue. Mayer, an office manager at the facility, said when she arrived for work shortly after 8 a.m., authorities told her no one could enter the building “because of the ammonia, it’s hazardous.”
“I’ve worked in Elk Grove Village for 28 years for the same company and I’ve never seen anything like this happen,” she said.
Milton Mercado, general manager for Moran Distribution Centers, a warehouse facility located east of the Grecian Delight plant on Estes Avenue, said traffic in and out of his building has been halted due to the explosion.
“(Authorities) blocked off the street. They didn’t want traffic going westbound on Estes in the event a spark from the engine would ignite the ammonia,” Mercado said.
He said fire and police officials couldn’t give him a “clear definition or answer” as to whether he should continue to operate machinery inside the building. Mercado said the trucking business was still operating within the building, but the road closure was severely impacting his ability to run the business.
More Top Picks Best Blue Light Glasses Under 100
“It’s a really good, reputable good company,” Mercado said. “I had friends work for the company at one point or another. They always said good things. I’m surprised this happened. It’s very unfortunate.”
Anselmo said the company has been operating out of the facility since he’s lived in the area and nothing like this has ever happened before. He called the explosion “a shame” both for the company and its employees.
The explosion in Elk Grove Village comes about a month after an ammonia leak in a Streamwood food processing plant injured seven people. Mikel said ammonia leaks are “unusual.”
“This plant is a safe operation,” Mikel said of the Grecian Delight facility. “It’s been a good neighbor in the community for many years.”
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter.