PEORIA, Ill. — “It’s been a very fluid situation”
It’s the characterization used by Interim Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger throughout the BioUrja plant failure, explosion and fire response which has stretched beyond one week at this point.
“We still have three off duty personnel and one reserve engine who are doing fire watch.”
Sollberger explained the changing dynamic of the fire presence at the scene as we enter this work week.
Due to Saturday’s forecast showers and thunderstorms, Sollberger said he expected contract demolition crews with Alpine Demolition Services to get to work on Sunday.
In an update issued early Monday, Sollberger says the most concerning grain silo has now been brought down. Crews will reportedly continue tearing down three remaining damaged grain silos, reportedly one per day through this week.
On Thursday, ground operations were performed and crews found multiple access points to flow water and create openings for the foam mitigation company, Allied International, to place their necessary equipment.
Sollberger said Nitrogen gas has been flowing into the grain silo with desired results.
Crews have also been injecting concrete into the remaining structures in order to further stabilize them in preparation for this week’s demolition effort. The demo crew was on-scene at the plant as of Friday morning.
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