Chemtool fire cause accidental, investigators say
ROCKTON, Ill. - Rockton fire officials announced on Friday, June 25 that the cause of the fire at the Chemtool facility was accidental.
Officials said in a news release that at 7 a.m. on Monday, June 14, Rockton firefighters were dispatched to the facility for a report of a fire inside the structure.
A project was underway at the Chemtool / Lubrizol facility to replace insulation on an elevated heat transfer piping network that was part of the site’s system for heating certain vessels used in the manufacturing of lubricating greases. This network of piping carried heated mineral oil.
Officials said that morning, an employee of an outside contractor performing the insulation replacement project was working in the area of origin. They were utilizing a scissor lift to access the elevated heat transfer piping network.
Shortly before 7 a.m., while the employee of the outside contractor was working in the area, a release occurred from the elevated piping. An unknown amount of mineral oil immediately began falling and pooling on the floor in the area of origin.
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Chemtool operators detected the release and shut down the boiler. They were in the process of placing containment booms as well as de-pressuring the heat transfer piping network when the fire ignited.
Officials say the most credible scenario is that the scissor lift struck a valve or other piece of piping with sufficient mechanical force to cause the release of mineral oil. The investigation has not yet determined the source of ignition.