Chemical Fire at Buffett-Owned Illinois Plant Prompts Lawsuit

A chemical fire in Illinois has prompted a class action lawsuit from residents who say they were forced out of their homes by a “massive toxic smoke and dust plume” at a Lubrizol Corp. facility.

The June 14 fire at subsidiary Chemtool Inc. “caused a massive toxic smoke and dust plume” that displaced residents from at least 150 homes within a one-mile radius of the Rockton plant north of Rockford, according to the complaint.

But plaintiff lawyer Edward Manzke said in an interview the class could expand to include residents within a three-mile radius of the facility, which manufactures ...