Carus Chemicals company burst into flames on the edge of a residential neighborhood, and not one alarm can be heard.
Neighbors who saw the smoke and flames didn’t know what was happening.
One resident, Jamie Hicks, ran out of his house, got in his truck, and drove down the street to check on his neighbor whom he thought her house was on fire.
When he Jamie got out of his truck, a purple granular chemical fell from the sky and covered his entire body.
The chemical cloud forming above the fire in this video rained chemicals over three communities.
Samples of air filters taken from residents’ homes show barium, copper, lead, manganese, zinc and mercury.
Homes where chemicals landed are damaged from the oxidation of the chemicals and metals.
Paint is peeling, shingles are deteriorating, metal is rusting, and neighbors have been experiencing health problems that not exist before the fire.
Carus has not taken responsibility for cleanup since this event and has moved illegally stored chemicals out of the Apollo Warehouse to an old mall in Ottawa located near a residential neighborhood.
Do you think there should be alarms on chemical plants and tier 2 storage facilities in fence line communities to warn neighbors if a disaster occurs?
Illinois Fire Marshal Report & Secrutiy Footage inside the Carus warehouse:
Protect Starved Rock and The Illinois Valley 