COLUMBIA, Ill. — Firefighters extinguished a chemical fire at a chemical plant in Columbia, Illinois Monday night.
Monroe County Public Safety Director Kevin Scheibe said the explosion happened at around 7:20 Monday night at the EMCO plant on Westgate Drive. The fire started when a 55-gallon drum of chemicals exploded in the center of the building. Scheibe said the contents of the drum were unknown.
Scheibe said it took firefighters about an hour to get the fire under control.
He said the fire was isolated to one room where the drum was located. No one was injured in the fire.
Firefighters from Missouri and Illinois assisted in putting out the fire.