Official: Evacuation underway when deadly Waukegan blast occurred
Sensing that something was going wrong, managers at a Waukegan manufacturing plant were working to evacuate employees moments before a deadly blast Friday night, a fire official said Monday.
"We had nine people in a building that's totally destroyed," Waukegan Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi said Monday while standing across from the ruins of the AB Specialty Silicones facility. "We had five people that survived a massive explosion. There were heroes involved that got these people to safety."
Lenzi said it is unclear whether those that stayed behind to help evacuate co-workers were among the three confirmed dead in the blast or the fourth person who remains missing inside the destroyed factory at 3790 Sunset Ave., on the city's northwest side.
Recovery crews were back at the scene early Monday digging through the wreckage for that missing person. Lenzi said that because of the risks involved and the need to preserve evidence, crews are working "slowly, methodically and safely."
"We are systematically moving piece by piece," he said.
A four-member team of specialists is leading the search, along with three or four firefighters, Lenzi said. As of late Monday afternoon, about 75 percent of the area where the search is being concentrated had been examined.
Although the exact cause of the blast remains undetermined, Lenzi said there is no evidence of foul play. A final determination will take between a week and a month.
"Something in the process went wrong," he said, describing the mixing of chemicals as something that happens constantly at the facility. "There was something building up in one of the processes that then went wrong."
Initial witness reports indicate that workers became aware of a possible threat and were evacuating when the explosion tore through the facility, Lenzi said. The explosion occurred before the fire at the plant.
One of the victims has been identified as Allen Stevens, 29, of Salem, Wisconsin. He died about 11:50 a.m. Saturday, at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, the Cook County medical examiner's office reported.
A second victim was found at the plant Saturday morning, and rescuers spent about two hours Sunday retrieving the body of a third, authorities said.
Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper said another of the explosion victims has been identified and his family has been notified. Dental records will be used Monday night to identify the second victim, he added. His office is expected to publicly release the names of both victims Tuesday morning.
Large, twisted pieces of the factory's steel roof laid across a field to the east Monday, blown off by the explosion and launched hundreds of feet away. The massive explosion gutted the plant, allowing passers-by a glimpse of the inside of the building when walking up to the scene. some stopped and took photos of the devastation.
Assistant Deputy Lake County Coroner Jason Patt was spotted standing by with cadaver dog "Bones" to assist in the search.
The Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents, announced Sunday it is sending a team to Waukegan to investigate the explosion. And the Environmental Protection Agency was on the scene over the weekend, Lenzi said.
The blast gutted the manufacturing facility and damaged five neighboring buildings. Two of those buildings reopened Monday morning, Lenzi said.
Authorities estimate that damages top $1 million.
• Staff writer Bob Susnjara contributed to this story.