Dr. Teri Brennan. (screen capture from U-I  update)

A University of Iowa Hospitals spokesperson says they treated 10 to 15 people following the explosion Thursday at a biofuel plant in Marengo.

Doctor Teri Brennan says they were fortunate that many were able to be treated and released. “We can’t comment on the specific conditions of the patients but I can tell you that the majority of them were in the minor to moderate category,” Brennan says.

She says one person did need more care than the others. “When a mass casualty incident like this happens we categorize patients into red yellow and green. The more serious injuries are in the red, the most serious injuries are in the red category, and we had one patient that was in the red category,” she says.

Brennan says they were given plenty of warning that patients were on the way. “We saw a variety of injuries in patients ranging from

Smoke from Marengo fire. (Iowa County Sheriff Dept. photo)

you know routine minor cuts and scrapes to burns and trauma,” Brennan says. Doctor Brennan says their emergency room has been pretty full with respiratory cases, but they were able to make room to handle these patients.

Homes and businesses near the facility in Marengo by  that uses a chemical process to recycle old asphalt shingles into biofuel were evacuated. No word yet on what may have caused the explosion.

(This story was updated with new information on the facility’s operation.)