Journal & Topics Media Group

2 Firefighters Suffer Minor Burns After Chemical Found In Park Ridge Fire


Firefighters work to put out fire in vacant gas station at Northwest Highway and Oakton in Park Ridge, Wednesday, July 17, 2019. (Nic Anderson/Journal photo)

The hazardous material that left two firefighters with minor burns after they responded to Wednesday’s vacant gas station fire in Park Ridge, turned out to be calcium peroxide.

Fire Chief Jeff Sorensen called the fire itself “very stubborn.” Windy conditions made for a smoky scene in the area of Northwest Highway and Oakton Street after 5 p.m.

After an hour of fighting the flames, the incident at 969 N. Northwest Hwy. also turned into a hazardous materials response. Sorensen said the 90,000 lbs. of calcium peroxide had been stored in the building for remediation work on the property.

“The chemical itself reacts with water to some degree, and it took about an hour to extinguish the fire,” the chief said in an email to the Journal.

However, Sorensen said this left crews with a hazardous materials scene plus “significant runoff from the chemical combined with approximately 250,000 gallons of water.”

The fire was reported shortly after 5 p.m. First arriving Park Ridge Fire Dept. crews quickly upgraded the incoming response to a working fire.

It wasn’t long before a box alarm response was requested bringing in additional crews from neighboring towns.

Park Ridge firefighters requested the city’s public works department at the scene due to a water main break.

When it was discovered unknown materials were in the building, hazmat assistance from other towns and the city’s building department were requested.

Later, a box alarm was put out for hazmat crews from around the area to respond.

Extra police officers were requested for traffic control as portions of Northwest Highway and Oakton Street were shut down.

Sorensen said all crews affected by the chemical were decontaminated. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Illinois EPA and state EMA were all contacted.

The firefighters who suffered minor burns were from Niles and Schiller Park. They were treated and released from Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Sorensen said, and most fire companies had left the scene by 10:30 p.m.

Assisting Park Ridge in fighting the fire were fire companies from Deerfield, Des Plaines, Elk
Grove Village, Glenview, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, North Maine,
Norwood Park, Prospect Heights, Schiller Park, Skokie, and Wheeling.

Helping to cover the other Park Ridge calls from stations 35 and 36 were fire crews from Buffalo
Grove, Evanston, Northbrook and Rosemont. Emergency calls were covered for approximately
five hours

Check back for updates.

Smoke pours out from fire scene at Northwest Highway and Oakton.

Firefighters work under heavy smoke to put out blaze in vacant gas station.

Scene along Oakton Street at fire site in Park Ridge.

Young onlooker on a bike gets view of tower ladder spraying down fire at Northwest Highway and Oakton.

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