Ill. Highway Worker Burned in Equipment Explosion

Jan. 18--TOWANDA -- A state worker was burned Friday morning in an explosion and fire at the IDOT maintenance facility south of Towanda on Route 66.

The Towanda Fire Department responded to a call that a piece of equipment had exploded around 8:40 a.m. "When we arrived, we initially found equipment on fire," said Towanda Fire Chief Brett Lueschen.

An IDOT worker was burned and was taken to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria by the Normal Fire Department.

There was no information yet on his condition.

Lueschen estimated about 28 firefighters and other rescue personnel were on the scene from Lexington, Hudson, Bloomington and Normal.

Bloomington's Hazmat team arrived at 9:24 a.m. and left at about an hour later after the materials were cleaned up, said BFD Capt. Brad McCollum.

"Our hazmat team was called due to the release of approximately two gallons of hydraulic fluid and also some residual patch mix from IDOT's patch machine (for patching road surfaces)," he said.

This story will be updated.

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