Five -alarm fire burns Caseyville auto salvage yard; oil drums explode

Firefighters from five departments rushed to an early Thursday afternoon blaze at Black Lane Auto Parts in Caseyville, which was turning into a hazardous material spill.

According to Caseyville firefighter Chuck Cohn, it wasn’t immediately clear what initially caused the fire. But there was an explosion at about 1 p.m. followed by flames shooting 20 feet into the air, creating thick plumes of black smoke.

The blaze caused 55-gallon drums — believed to be filled with used motor oil — to rupture, causing St. Clair County’s Hazardous Materials Response Team to rush to the site of the auto salvage yard at 1880 Black Lane.

Oil mixed with water from the firefighters, and it was running into drainage ditches along Black Lane.

Cohn said it was not immediately known if anyone was injured in the explosion and fire.

As of 2 p.m., fire crews had the blaze under control. They continued to pour water onto the building to cool it down and prevent the flames from reigniting.

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Five -alarm fire burns Caseyville auto salvage yard; oil drums explode."