2 workers, 1 firefighter injured in industrial fire in Bedford Park, Illinois

Two workers and one firefighter were hurt in an industrial fire at a business in southwest suburban Bedford Park Friday morning.

Fire officials said they were called to a food processing plant in the 6400 block of South Archer Road shortly after 8:30 a.m. When they arrived they found a structure fire at the Ingredion Inc. plant. The building is very large, stretching almost all the way back to the Stevenson Expressway.

As some firefighters doused the flames, others began searching the building. Inside they found two employees with burn injuries. They were taken by ambulance to nearby hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were not immediately known.

The fire was brought under control at about 9 a.m. One firefighter was hurt, with minor burn injuries, and was also taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Ingredion is a global food ingredient manufacturer.

"Here we process corn and sweetener starches," manager Brian Kueber said.

Kueber said the fire involved one of their dust collectors that sits outside the building, where they extract oil from corn germ. He said the employees who were hurt were responding to a possible clog in that piece of equipment when they saw flames and were burned.

"The dust collector had material level inside the vessel, and so they were responding to an abnormal condition," he said.

The two employees are expected to recover.

"Our first concern is for our employees, the two employees, as well as the firefighters, that they'll make a speedy and full recovery," said Kueber.

Over two dozen firefighters from Bedford Park and neighboring departments responded to the scene, and stayed for hours making sure the fire was completely contained.

The plant is now back to normal operations. The investigation into the cause of the fire is  ongoing.