Two employees sustained serious injuries on Monday morning following an explosion at a paint manufacturing facility in northeast Illinois, as per local reports. The incident occurred around 8:30 a.m. at the Seymour Paint factory in Sycamore, situated just over 60 miles west of Chicago, as reported by local news channels WGN-TV and WFLD. Sycamore Fire Chief Bart Gilmore informed the media on-site that the building’s water and foam fire suppression system was promptly activated, although fire trucks had to be deployed to completely put out the flames. It is believed that the fire was triggered by the explosion of a paint can, noted Gilmore, based on reports. Messages were left by USA TODAY on Tuesday morning for Gilmore and Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters.
A shooting incident occurred where a 15-year-old girl was identified as the assailant in a fatal attack at a school in Madison, which claimed the lives of two individuals. Two workers were hospitalized due to the explosion at Seymour, a long-standing company of 75 years that pioneered aerosol paint. The workers reportedly suffered from severe burns, according to WGN-TV. Additionally, a third individual received treatment at the scene, as reported by the news outlet. Gilmore mentioned that the fire was successfully brought under control in less than 30 minutes.
“We were fortunate to have a swift response time, enabling us to suppress the fire before significant damage could occur, preventing the situation from escalating into a major incident,” stated Gilmore during his media briefing at the scene. USA TODAY attempted to contact Seymour Paint for a statement on Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Eric Lagatta, who covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY, can be reached at elagatta@gannett.com. This article was originally published on USA TODAY: 2 hurt in explosion at Seymour paint plant in Illinois: Reports.
