CHICAGO — U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago sent responders to assist during a fire at the Empress Casino in Joliet, Ill.
An extra-alarm fire broke out at the casino, located on the Des Plaines River, when a section of the facility undergoing construction caught fire.
Due to the building’s proximity to the river, MSU Chicago dispatched a response team to support the responding fire departments.
There has been no pollution reported in the river.
The Coast Guardsmen were dispatched as a precautionary measure to ensure no pollution would impact the waterway.
As an additional cautionary measure, Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee directed small boat assets from Station Calumet Harbor to respond.
The Coast Guard has also issued a radio broadcast advising commercial vessels to transit the area with caution.
The Coast Guard oversees the investigation of and response to pollution threats on the navigable waters and maintains a cadre of highly trained pollution investigators and responders.
