'Mass Casualty Incident' Sends 14 To Hospital With Food Poisoning: FD

YORKVILLE, IL — Fourteen people working at Yorkville company were hospitalized with food poisoning Monday in what Bristol Kendall fire officials called a "mass casualty incident."

Officials suspect the food poisoning to be a result of homemade food brought in and shared during the employees' lunch break. An additional person was treated on the scene but declined hospital transport, Interim Fire Chief Jeremy Messersmith told Patch.

Firefighters and paramedics from the Bristol Kendall Fire Protection District responded at 12:54 p.m. to the business in the 200 block of Boombah Boulevard for a medical call. The first engine to arrive confirmed using monitors that the cause was not hazardous gases, according to a news release.

While crews were on the way, dispatch advised four people potentially had food poisoning. More employees started to have the same symptoms, prompting crews to request additional medic units to transport patients to four different hospitals.

In the end, crews from seven fire departments — including Oswego, Little Rock-Fox, Sandwich, Sugar Grove, Montgomery, Countryside and Big Rock — assisted Bristol Kendall on the scene. Aurora Township Fire Protection District and Aurora Fire Department provided station coverage during the incident.