An explosion and three-alarm fire tore through a Turano Baking Company building in suburban Oak Park on Tuesday, leaving four people injured and engulfing bread delivery trucks in flames.
Three people suffered minor injuries in the blaze in the 6500 block of Roosevelt Road, according to reports, and video of the scene showed the building and some delivery trucks engulfed in flames.
A fourth person injured in the fire was taken to Loyola Medical Center in serious condition.
The fire started at 2:20 p.m. in Turano Bakery's fleet maintenance garage, which sits in Oak Park, police spokesman David Powers said.
Residents in the neighborhood were evacuated as a precaution, officials told NBC 5. About 900 people were without power in Oak Park and 1,000 in Berwyn.
"It was very intense, very loud," witness Jesse Gálvez said of the explosion. "Right away you knew something was wrong. ... I saw black smoke just everywhere."
A series of explosions ripped through the garage, spewing thick black smoke into the air above it, crumbling the brick wall around it and making the alley behind it impassable. The fire was still going as of 3:30 p.m. and electricity to the building was cut off.
"I felt like a truck came through our house," said witness Tommy White. "After the initial explosion I started to hear more explosions, probably between 12 to 15 more."
Fire investigators believe the cause of the flames involved a propane tank in the garage.
"They were changing one of the propane tanks on one of the vehicles and they thought it was empty but it was full so the propane tank shot up in the air and touched one of the heating units on the ceiling," said Oak Park Battalion Fire Chief Kevin Wiley.
The bakery, located on the south side of Roosevelt in suburban Berwyn, resumed operations shortly after the fire.
