A look at the impact of the Carus fire in La Salle after 1 year

One year ago, a fire occurred at the Carus plant in La Salle that continues to have an impact within the community.

A few hours after reports of an explosion about 9 a.m. Jan. 11, 2023, the fire itself was contained by noon. Injuries were limited to a worker with an inhalation injury and a firefighter with a minor injury.

[ ‘We’re thankful nobody got hurt,’ police chief says of Carus Chemical fire in La Salle ]

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Material pours out from the Carus Chemical plant on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in La Salle. (Scott Anderson)

Residents living in the 3rd and 4th Wards were asked to shelter in place as a precautionary measure until early that evening. An oxidizer appeared on cars, on siding and on other outdoor items as a result of the fire.

Questions arose from some residents about the environmental impact of the oxidizer released as a result of the fire, who cited home testing and analysis from volunteers from the Sierra Club.

Residents voiced these concerns at La Salle City Council meetings and held a couple of rallies in front of the Carus office in Peru, resulting in a pair of town hall meetings led by Carus officials.

[ Carus says it needed to do better in response to Jan. 11 La Salle fire ]

[ Carus hears 2nd round of concerns from residents ]

Carus officials said they have reviewed safety plans and reinforced training with staff. The company has maintained that there was no threat to residents’ health from the materials released during the fire.

Here is what’s occurred in the past year:

La Salle neighborhood warehouse shut down

[ Carus LLC to retire warehouse ]

In June, the La Salle City Council removed a truck route on Porter Avenue that leads to a Carus LLC warehouse, and the company discontinued use of the warehouse and removed all remaining equipment and spare parts stored in it.

Most chemicals were removed from the warehouse north of Porter Avenue and east of Zinc Street, known by the company as the Apollo warehouse, by Feb. 15 when the city of La Salle had asked Carus to remove all remaining chemicals.

Most of the DOT nonhazardous chemicals removed from the Apollo warehouse were transported to Carus’ La Salle manufacturing plant to be used in production, while a small portion was moved to the Lotz warehouse in Ottawa, the company said.

Air monitor purchased for La Salle

[ La Salle receives air monitor from Carus ]

An air monitor was purchased by Carus LLC and donated to the city of La Salle in July. Then, it was set up in November at Rotary Park.

The monitor was donated by Carus in response to residents asking about the potential environmental impact after the Jan. 11 fire at the company’s La Salle plant. Carus paid for three years of Wi-Fi to allow public access to the air monitor through a web hosting service.

Carus has said particulate matter is not affected in the La Salle area by its plant.

The air monitor was one of the requests from residents to Carus as recommended by the Sierra Club. After meeting with Aldermen Bob Thompson and Jordan Crane, Carus decided to donate an air monitor and set up a task force made up of residents, city officials and Carus administrators to come up with a plan in the event of another emergency.

Emergency plan devised

[ Safety plan in wake of Jan. 11 Carus fire may get another review, after concerns raised ]

A committee of La Salle and Carus officials devised shelter-in-place guidelines for residents in the event of another emergency, similar to the Jan. 11 fire at Carus’ chemical plant, but concerns were raised in an October council meeting about the plan. Work continues on that plan.

Insurance claims continue to be paid

Carus LLC has said it’s made significant strides in working with insurance companies to resolve damage claims from the fire.

The company still receives new claims, changing the data, said Lyndsay Bliss, vice president of human resources. Carus intends to release an updated report of the status of these claims.

In July, the company had reported 51 claims had been settled or paid.

Carus also worked with local fire departments to resolve any claims they had from damaged equipment while fighting the fire, including fully reimbursing La Salle and Oglesby departments.

OSHA issues $15,191 fines to Carus

[ Carus fined $15,191 for 2 OSHA violations related to Jan. 11 fire ]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Carus LLC for two violations – one considered serious – dating back to the Jan. 11 fire in La Salle, fining the company $15,191.

Over the summer, the agency said Carus failed to provide employees with noncombustible materials for use in storage and handling of potassium permanganate, a class 2 oxidizer. The agency said employees were exposed to fire hazards because of an oxidizer coming into contact with combustible materials.

According to the OSHA report, the fire resulted in a worker having an inhalation-related injury. Carus had filed a “notice of contest” disputing OSHA’s findings.