Gibson City bands together through 7-hour IFF fire
GIBSON CITY, Ill. (WCIA) — On Monday, a soybean dryer caught fire at Gibson City’s IFF plant. From fearless fire crews to generous community members, all hands were on deck.
Firefighters are using some heavy-duty equipment to get inside of the soybean dryer. They said it took hours to put out the flames, and on Tuesday, they were keeping a close eye on it since the facility was still smoldering.
People made sure first responders had food and were staying hydrated for the seven-hour ordeal. American Legion Manager Jodi Link said she’s gotten used to springing into action whenever there’s a fire.
“Well, I was on my way to the grocery store, and I got the call,” she said.
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Gibson City has seen their fair share of fires in the past couple of years. A downtown building burned down in 2022, and last year a fire tore through an apartment building on the same street. Link said she’s gotten used to answering the call.
“He said, ‘Well, I’ve got about 100 firefighters out here,’ and so I simply put a post on Facebook.”
Link’s post jumpstarted an outpouring of support. People donated food and water.
“It’s been a regular occurrence for us here for this community to just to do tons of stuff for us, to take care of us when these things happen,” Fire Chief Bruce Kallal said.
He said they arrived at the scene just before 1 p.m., and the giant structure made the fire tough to battle. Firefighters had to use long ladders just to reach the flames. They got help from nine other departments.
The fire was finally contained by 7 p.m.
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“We told them to take what they wanted back to their fire departments,” Link said, “because unfortunately, they’re not done after they leave here.”
The all-volunteer fire department didn’t only get support in the form of chicken, pizza and dessert. Due to the setup of the soybean plant, water for the fire trucks wasn’t readily available.
“We also had other businesses in town help us out,” Kallal said, “just hauling water, literally.”
Even people from outside Gibson City pitched in to help. Link had people coming from Paxton, Loda and Sibley to donate food and supplies.
“It makes you feel good,” she said. “Your heart feels full, but we couldn’t do it without everybody here. You know, you need everybody.”
Firefighters continue to monitor the soybean dryer. WCIA 3 also reached out to employees from the plant to find out more about the fire. They haven’t been able to share any details at this time.
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