Mount Prospect firefighters called to 3rd fire in 9 days at business

Fire crews responded early Friday morning to the third fire in nine days at a commercial site in Mount Prospect, officials said Saturday.

The Mount Prospect Fire Department was called to Multi-Pack Solutions, 1804 W. Central Road, at about 2:57 a.m. after a 55-gallon barrel filled with an unknown substance caught fire outside the facility, according to Battalion Chief Randy Uidl.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze using a dry chemical extinguisher, Uidl said, and they were able to leave the scene less than an hour later.

The fire department responded twice to the facility Aug. 7 after reports of a smoldering chemical detergent at the site. The first fire happened around 6:30 a.m. inside the factory and was put out with an extinguisher, Uidl said. The second fire was at about 9:30 p.m. in a semi-truck outside, and crews used water to extinguish it but had difficulty due to the chemical oxidizing, Uidl said.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency was called to monitor the second instance because of runoff from the water used to extinguish the fire, Uidl said, but it is not believed to be a health risk to the public.

Fire officials were on the scene Aug. 8 working with the manufacturing company and its cleanup company. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District was also at the site and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency was notified to ensure cleanup met all state, federal, and local guidelines.

It was unclear if the EPA was involved in the incident Friday. There were no reports of injuries in any of the incidents, and they were all believed to be accidental, according to Uidl.