Early Thursday morning (Dec. 8) a grain elevator and soybean crushing factory owned by Heartland Crush LLC in Marengo, Iowa caught fire and exploded due to causes that are still under investigation. While officials haven’t come out with anything new, T. Renée Anthony, director of the Great Plains Center of Agricultural Health at the University of Iowa believes large amounts of settled dust within the factory came in contact with an electric spark which started the fire. He theorized that the explosion was produced due to the pressure build up from the fire being in a confined space. 

Dispatched officers, firefighters, and paramedics rushed to the scene to put out the fire and help those caught in the disaster. Community members reported that the explosion occurred around 11:15 AM on the 800 block of East South Street. All 30 people who were present in the Soybean factory during the explosion have been accounted for. The University of Iowa Hospitals and clinics are treating around 10-15 people caught in the explosion for severe burns and trauma. The fire was eventually contained and put out early Friday morning (Dec. 9) by Firefighters on the scene. 

  Neighborhoods near the factory were safely evacuated and community members were advised by officials to stay indoors to avoid the smoke. Those who had been evacuated were told to head to the Iowa County Transportation Building, located at 1680 Franklin Avenue. Residents in an eight-block radius have been authorized to return to their homes approximately nine hours after being evacuated.