Columns of smoke were seen after an explosion and fire Wednesday evening at the Koppers plant in southwest suburban Stickney, officials reported.
Shortly after 6 p.m., the Stickney Fire Department responded to a call of an explosion and a fire at Koppers Inc. Stickney Plant located at 3900 Laramie Ave., fire officials said.
While en route, firefighters saw a large column of smoke bellowing from the area and realized the severity of the incident and sought additional help to the scene.
When firefighters arrived, they saw a large storage tank with its top blown off, with heavy fire and smoke coming from the tank. It was quickly confirmed that all employees had been accounted for and no one was injured, officials said.
Additional help was summoned to the scene and Koppers personnel provided them with details regarding the contents of the tank which was petroleum distillate, officials said.
Fire officials said there was no danger posed to nearby residents because the fire was contained inside the storage tank, and the wind was carrying the smoke from northeast to southwest away from residential areas. As a precaution, residents including Morton College were told to shelter in place, officials said.
Hazardous material teams and Koppers personnel are monitoring the air quality inside the facility as well as the surrounding areas. So far, no hazardous readings were detected in the area, officials said.
Crews began being released from the scene around 7:30 p.m., with the final crew leaving around 9:15 p.m., officials said.
