Fire officials said a worker was injured after a kiln exploded and caused a fire to start inside a medical device manufacturing plant in Lincolnshire Thursday morning.
The Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District responded around 9:10 a.m. Thursday to Flexan, 500 Bond Street in Lincolnshire, for an activated fire alarm.
Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire District Battalion Chief Steve McCaughey said firefighters arrived to find the building’s occupants evacuated.
The occupants reported that a kiln inside the building had exploded.
Employees were reported to have been using fire extinguishers to control the fire, McCaughey said.
Firefighters entered to investigate and found smoke and active fire.
The incident was upgraded to a working fire response, bringing additional fire departments to the scene.
“Quick action by both the occupants and the emergency crews kept the damage to one room of the building,” McCaughey said.
A worker suffered a minor injury but declined transport to the hospital.
A mobile ventilation unit through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was requested to the scene. The Elk Grove Village Fire Department responded with that unit.
McCaughey said the equipment helped remove smoke from inside the building.
The Buffalo Grove, Long Grove and Deerfield fire departments also assisted at the scene.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation and a damage estimate was not available.