WAUKEGAN (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Firefighters resumed their search Monday morning for the lone missing worker in the rubble of a silicone manufacturing plant destroyed Friday night by an explosion in Waukegan.
Waukegan Fire Marshal Steve Lenzi said that, in addition to preliminary interviews already done, investigators will start doing more thorough interviews Tuesday to determine the cause of the explosion at the AB Specialty Silicones plant on Sunset Avenue.
He said there is no evidence of any foul play, that the explosion was caused by something in the process at the plant and was accidental.
Lenzi said there was some advance notice something dangerous was imminent.
"We do have the initial statements that there were some management staff that were aware something was going on wrong. They did start to evacuate," he said.
Lenzi said that, because there was an effort to evacuate, five of the nine workers inside the plant survived. He said crews are expected to remain on the scene for days.
"Our firefighters are working in some horrible conditions in there. The entire building has collapsed into the areas we’re trying to search now. We’re systematically removing, piece-by-piece. That is the plan today. Continue to remove heavy debris from on top of what would be under the structure," he said.
He adds that it's pain-staking work and offers, as an example, the finding on Sunday of the body of the third worker killed.
"That took over two-and-a-half hours to cut material away safely because every time you cut a piece away, every time you pull a piece away, you have the possibility of further collapse. We don’t want to destroy any evidence that may be under and we need to do it slowly and methodically and safely," Lenzi said.
Of the nine workers who had been in the plant at the time, three are known to have been killed, one is still missing, three were injured and two had no injuries at all.
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