In the early hours of November 3, 20011, a train derailment lead to a fiery scene after the collision of two trains in the area of unincorporated Cook County between Elgin and Bartlett. The derailment has caused the temporary closure of the Milwaukee West Line.

Around 5:30 a.m., twenty-two cars derailed and three began to burn after the collision occurred between two trains on the Canadian National rail lines that are north-south tracks at the point where they cross with the east-west Milwaukee West commuter rail line. One of the trains was a northbound Canadian National freight train. 

There were no reported injuries and nor were there any evacuations. The cars that were carrying toxic material of acid and sodium hydroxide (lye) were cleared from the derailment area and did not catch afire. However, the storage sheds for the Milwaukee Commuter line were blocked by the derailment which prevented the cars for east and west bound lines from being dispatched. This is expected to last through Friday as crews clean up the accident site.

Train derailments can cause more than delays in commuter rail lines.

If you or a loved one knows someone who has injuries as a result of a train derailment, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to find out your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

The town of Tiskilwa in north-central Illinois was evacuated on October 7, 2011 when a train with 126 cars derailed. At least six tanker cars were burning.

 According to a story by the Associated Press, witnesses reported hearing several explosions.
 
The derailment took place around 2:00 in the morning about one half mile outside of the town, cause approximately 60 cars carrying ethanol to leave the tracks. Residents reported that it sounded like a jet coming over the town. The glow of the fire could be seen from several miles away.
 
There have been no reports of injuries but Tiskilwa, located 100 miles west of Chicago, was evacuated its 800 residents, many to Princeton High School. Emergency crews from Utica, Oglesby, Peru and LaSalle County were on site to put out the fire. A foam product used for putting out fires was being used as water would be ineffective on this type of fire. 
 
If you or a love one has been injured due to a train accident, call Spiros Law 815-929-9292 to learn your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

Fire gutted a 90,000 square foot building on Grinnell Road in Kankakee that was the home to three businesses. The strong winds of Friday, September 2, 2011 propelled the fire that caused explosions and fifty foot high flames. Smoke from the fire was seen ten miles away.

The fire started in the southern section of the building that was home to River Valley Recycling around 1:30 p.m. At times the sounds of muffled explosions were heard and were thought to be caged propane tanks used at the recycling plant.

The tanks were apparently the cause of the high flames.

Kankakee Fire Chief Ron Young was told that no one remained in the building and no firefighters were hurt while containing the blaze. However, the building housed two other businesses – Tru –Cut Machinery and a tannery – that have lost equipment in the fire.

Not all workplace fires end injury free. If you or a loved one knows someone who has been injured in a workplace fire, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to explore your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

A single “boom” on August 16, 2011, loud enough for neighbors to think a tree had fallen on their own house, indicated that an explosion had occurred at the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America plant in Herscher in southwest Kankakee County.
 
Five people were hurt in the mid-morning explosion that caused a fire. Bonfield resident Richard Wildman, 36, was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood after suffering burns and had been listed in critical condition. According to Ken McCabe, spokesman for the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office, the other four workers were treated at local hospitals in Kankakee and released on Tuesday.
 
It is unknown as to what caused the explosion and the investigation may take some time. Damon Hall, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, stated that one inspector was on site as of  Tuesday and two more inspectors were expected by Wednesday. The Herscher plant has had explosions in the past but has a clean safety record for the past ten years.
 
When explosions happen at the workplace, injuries can be long lasting.

If you or a loved one knows someone who has been injured at the workplace, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to explore your legal rights. Visit the website at wwwspiroslaw.com.

Five people were injured in a gas explosion that occurred this morning in a town south of Herscher.

According to the public relations spokesperson at Riverside Medical Center, three victims from the explosion were sent there after the blast.

Two of them were admitted for non-life threatening injuries and another was transported to Loyola University Hospital to be admitted to their burn unit. Two others were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee in, what is being described as, stable condition. No other injuries are known at this time.

Our thoughts are with the victims during their recovery.

Two homes were destroyed and a third was damaged following what authorities believe was a gas main explosion in Braidwood on Wednesday morning. While most of the residents of the 200 block of East Cermak Road escaped without injury, one man was transported to the Loyola Medical Center in Maywood for treatment for injuries caused by the blast.

Firefighters responded to the emergency call at 2:37 a.m. on Monday morning and discovered three houses on fire. Authorities are still trying to determine the exact cause of the explosion.