Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) employees initially called the fire department reporting, “smoldering material” in a silo storage bin at the loading and storage facility, said the Illinois-based company in a statement sent to us.
“A few hours later, for reasons unknown at this time, an explosion occurred in the silo,” added ADM.
Employees at the Clinton, Iowa facility noticed smoke in the 5.45 am Saturday, at which point the area fire department was contacted, said ADM.
The fire department thought the incident had been somewhat stabilized prior to the explosion, according to information from the Clinton Fire Department. The blast happened at about 8.45 am
The fire, located in the third silo at the facility, was extinguished later in the day on Saturday.
An investigation of the incident is ongoing and anticipated to take a long time, according to the department.
ADM has been working with the department, however, more information is not being released at this time pending the investigation.
Eric Hosette, 33, has been identified as the firefighter killed during the explosion at the Clinton, Iowa grain facility. Hosette and another firefighter, Adam Cain, 23, were injured during the explosion, according to information from the Clinton Fire Department.
“We greatly appreciate the quick response, bravery and dedication of all of the emergency responders today,” the company added. “We are deeply saddened at the turn of events. We are investigating the cause and assessing the damage to our facility.”
Recent incidents
The fire at the ADM facility is not the only incident involving emergency response reported in recent months.
In November, there was a dust explosion and fire at an ADM facility in Decatur, Illinois. At the time, the company released a statement saying that an explosion had occurred in a grain elevator. However, no injuries were reported and the fire was controlled with help from the Decatur fire department.
There was a fire at a Bunge soybean processing facility in Bellevue, Ohio, in November; that story was initially reported by Reuters. A grain elevator had caught fire at the location.
Also in December, the US Department of Labor fined a Nebraska-based dairy $79K following an investigation into a grain bin incident where an employee died.