MARION, Ind. (AP) -- Two explosions about six weeks apart have some people who live and work near a closed Thomson television picture tube plant uneasy about the salvage work being done behind the factory's gates.
An explosion and fire on Tuesday injured four workers who were removing equipment from inside a building, police said. The fire, which was sparked when a live electrical line was mistakenly cut, critically burned one worker, with the three others and a firefighter suffering less-serious injuries.
Marvin Tinsley of Shelbyville remained in critical condition in St. Joseph Regional Burn Center late Tuesday night. Marion Deputy Fire Chief Brian Cowgill said Tinsley suffered second-degree burns to 75 percent of his body.
Tinsley is the owner of salvage company MKT Inc., the Chronicle-Tribune reported.
Fire Capt. Jerry Foustnight was being kept overnight at Marion General Hospital after suffering smoke inhalation while helping to rescue Tinsley, Cowgill said.
Two other MKT workers, Shawn Price, 24, of Williamsport, and Michael Denny, 19, of Greenwood, were treated for minor injuries and released, and a third worker, Raymond Parker of Marion, was treated at the scene, authorities said.
Worries about possible exposure from chemicals stored in the building prompted authorities to ask many nearby residents to leave their homes before air quality tests found no contamination, police Sgt. Del Garcia said.
Tuesday's explosion at the sprawling 1 million-square-foot plant followed an Aug. 29 blast that killed a salvage worker, who police said was using a blowtorch to detach a tank from a building when it blew up.
Brenda Beaman, who lives near the plant, said she was worried that the salvage work was being done by unqualified workers. She left her home Tuesday even though it was outside the area where police asked for evacuations.
''This is the second time this happened. The first one shook my house,'' Beaman said. ''This is just out of hand. I'm extremely nervous.''
Ralph Carey, who owns a restaurant near the plant, said he did not believe the salvage work had been going well.
''They don't know what they're doing, they've got a crew over there salvaging the place that shouldn't even be in the place,'' he said.
Thomson closed the plant on the city's south side in March 2004, costing the community midway between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis nearly 1,000 jobs.
Lester Lee, a North Vernon businessman whose companies include the Lees Inn motel chain along with concrete and trucking firms, bought the plant from Thomson last spring and has been preparing to market the property to potential buyers.
''We have to apply all the rules and regulations and if somebody we hire comes in, they have to live up to their part of the rules and regulations,'' Lee told the Chronicle-Tribune.
''I don't even know what started the fire, I'm not a fireman, I'm not a policeman, I'm not an investigator, we have to wait and see whatever their reports show.''
Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold said the building and equipment inside it are old, which may mean more dangerous work. He said the job site would be shut down until officials know it is safe.
Seybold also said Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors had visited the factory after the August explosion and that they approved further work at the site. He said OSHA would be called again to check that the site is safe.
''We're just going to make sure they know what they're doing,'' Seybold said of the salvage workers. ''We're not going to let anybody go back to work until we know it's safe.''
Messages seeking comment on the two explosions were left for state OSHA officials.
The badly burned worker from Tuesday's fire was taken by helicopter to St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne. Two other workers and a firefighter suffered some burns and were taken to a Marion hospital, Garcia said. A fourth injured worker was treated at the scene.
Janet Haisley said her best friend's husband was working in the plant and suffered minor burns Tuesday. She said she had never worried about any danger from the plant before Thomson closed it last year.
''There's never been any threat,'' she said.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
