The Chemtool chemical plant in Rockton, Illinois, caught fire Monday after a reported explosion, authorities said. A mandatory evacuation is in place for the town, located north of Rockford.
ROCKTON, Ill. (WLS) — For Laura Buffum and her family, including their dog Krypto, Monday morning dawned with the sound of what was believed to be intense roadwork. Soon, in her block a half-mile south of the Chemtool plant, neighbors were on their lawns strategizing about an emergency.“The dog started barking this morning and I went outside because I noticed a lot of my neighbor standing out looking,“ Buffman said. „And I looked and saw this big huge smoke but nobody knew what was on fire. The next-door neighbor came over and told us to chemical plant is actually on fire and the police would recommend you leave the area.“What they were seeing was an explosion at a Chemtool chemical plant near Rockton, Illinois. She and her family had little time to think, so they first went to nearby McChesney Park before hightailing it six miles to Roscoe Middle School.“They said grab your pets, grab your belongings and leave. You need to go,“ she described, „and as we were doing that, actually fire debris was raining down on us that was lit on fire.““I have never seen anything like it whatsoever,“ said Tom Buffum.“ You see it on TV in the forest fires but not in Rockton!“That experienced paralleled others who took refuge at the middle school in the next town over.“I see this huge black cloud when I looked out my window and I’m going, ‚Oh my God.‘ I threw on something to wear and was out the door. I didn’t even grab my medications,“ said evacuee Laurie Oostendorp. She quickly grabbed her mom and her pets.“If it wasn’t for the school, we would not have had a clue where to go,“ Oostendorp added. „My house may or may not be safe. It’s on the edge of the cemetery which is right on the cusp of that one-mile evacuation. If the wind shifts, my house will not be all right.“Large flames from the chemical plant caused heavy smoke to cover the air in the area. The plant has been burning since 7 a.m. and the smoke continues to go south and southeast. Firefighters from surrounding towns raced to the scene to help fight the fire.
