Indianapolis Cargo Truck Fire-Serious Burn Victims

[NJFFSA16]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Fire roared through a cargo truck Tuesday on
a busy freeway, injuring more than a dozen members of the painting
crew inside, some of them critically.
The truck was southbound on Interstate 465 near Indianapolis
International Airport when the fire began.
The flames started when a cigarette ignited fumes from paint
thinner or lacquer thinner, which burst into flames, said Michael
Olinger, medical director of Wishard Ambulance Service.
Motorists reported seeing a cargo door at the rear of the truck
open and occupants making the choice between jumping onto the
highway from the moving truck or getting badly burned.
Some stopped to help the victims. Witnesses said the fire burned
the clothes and shoes off some of the painters and left their skin
in shreds.
Wishard Memorial Hospital received six victims. Five were listed
in critical condition and one in serious condition Tuesday evening.
Some had second and third-degree burns over 90 percent of their
bodies.
Seven more people went to Methodist Hospital, and three were
listed in critical condition. The conditions of the other four were
not available.
"It's going to be a long-term recovery in the burn ward. And
depending on how many skin grafts are needed, we're looking at a
considerable amount of time at the hospital and potentially some
fatalities," Olinger said.
Eight of the 13 patients are on ventilators, he said.
Four people riding in the cab were unhurt.
The victims' identities were not immediately known, state police
said.
The truck's driver, Gary Smith, initially heard a commotion
coming from the back of the truck. He and the three other riders in
the cab at first thought the riders in the back were fighting,
police said.
When Smith pulled over, he realized the truck was on fire.
The truck belonged to RPT Painting Co. of Franklin. Everyone
inside was an employee of the company. When the flames were put
out, only a scorched shell of the vehicle remained.
The fire caused a 10-mile backup in the southbound lanes of
I-465 during the afternoon rush hour.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

By MARK JEWELL
Associated Press Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A truck traveling down a busy freeway with a
crew of painters was engulfed in flames in a blaze that may have
been started by a cigarette igniting fumes from paint thinner or
lacquer. One man was killed and 12 others riding with him in the
back of the truck were critically burned.
Witnesses said the workers piled out of the truck screaming,
their clothing on fire and their lungs seared by toxic fumes.
Passers-by poured bottled water on the men to soothe their burns
until ambulances arrived after Tuesday's fire.
The burned men, ages 18 to 32, lay hospitalized Wednesday with
burns covering as much as 90 percent of their bodies.
"It's going to be a long-term recovery in the burn ward. And
depending on how many skin grafts are needed, we're looking at a
considerable amount of time at the hospital and potentially some
fatalities," said Michael Olinger, medical director of Wishard
Ambulance Service.
Efforts to piece together the chain of events was complicated by
the fact that eight survivors were placed on ventilators to help
them breathe, and most were unconscious and under sedation to limit
their pain, doctors said Wednesday.
"You can't talk to somebody that is incoherent," said Sgt. Ray
Poole, an Indiana State Police spokesman. "That's why the
investigation has hit a little bit of a wall. Once they come out of
that condition, hopefully they'll be interested in talking."
Temperatures inside the truck were believed to have reached as
high as 1,000 degrees as paints and thinners in plastic containers
caught fire in the enclosed space.
Several men were so severely burned that family members were
allowed to see them only if they wore protective clothing to guard
against the possibility that they might infect the men, whose
burned skin is unable to protect them from germs.
Most of the men faced multiple surgeries, including skin grafts,
and long hospital stays.
"We're not talking about hours or days here," said Chuck
Schufflebarger, emergency services director at Methodist Hospital,
one of four hospitals treating victims.
John W. Webster died overnight after suffering third-degree
burns over 90 percent of his body.
The men were all employees of the RPT Painting, which is based
in Franklin, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis. The driver and
three others in the cab were not injured.
Phone calls rang unanswered at RPT Painting Wednesday. A phone
message was left for an Indianapolis attorney for the company,
Craig Helmreich.
The workers were packed into the enclosed cargo area of the
truck because another company vehicle had broken down, said Trooper
Andy Shank. Police said it did not appear to be a violation for the
men to be riding in the back.
The fire was initially blamed on a cigarette. Lead investigator
Rick Batza said Wednesday it was too early to determine the exact
cause, but authorities were not ruling out a cigarette.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A dozen painting company workers who
survived a deadly truck fire were so badly burned that only two
could talk to investigators, hampering a probe into the accident.
Investigators believe that chemicals spilled in the enclosed
cargo area where the workers were riding as the truck traveled down
a busy highway Tuesday, but they were unsure what ignited the
blaze. An emergency worker initially blamed a cigarette.
The fire trapped 13 employees, ages 18 to 46, who were sitting
in the cargo area among plastic containers of paints and thinners.
The men were sharing the truck after another broke down.
Burns covered as much as 90 percent of their bodies, and their
lungs were seared by superheated toxic gases. One worker,
30-year-old John Webster, died from his injuries, and most of the
others face long hospital stays and multiple surgeries, including
skin grafts.
"We're not talking about hours or days here," said Chuck
Shufflebarger, emergency services director at Methodist Hospital,
where some victims were treated.
Investigators said they would have to wait for any clues the men
might be able to offer.
"You can't talk to somebody that is incoherent," said Sgt. Ray
Poole, an Indiana State Police spokesman.
Four other employees in the truck's cab were uninjured.
All aboard the truck worked for RPT Painting, based in Franklin,
about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
Phone calls to the company rang unanswered, and an Indianapolis
attorney for the company, Craig Helmreich, did not return a phone
message.
Authorities did not believe the presence of the 13 men in the
back of the truck violated any laws.