Injury count tops 125 in blasts, fire that killed 1
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. » With the number of people reporting injuries from the explosions and fire at a cosmetics factory rising past 125, investigators on Tuesday tried to determine what caused the blasts at a plant with a checkered history that includes fines for safety violations earlier this year and a fatal workplace shooting 12 years ago.
One person died in the Monday morning blasts and fire at Verla International, which is at 463 Temple Road in the Orange County town of New Windsor. He was identified Tuesday as factory employee William Huntington, 57, of Newburgh.
Authorities initially said up to 35 people, including seven firefighters, were injured at the Verla plant. But St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital spokeswoman Kate Dabroski said Tuesday that the total number of people treated increased substantially later Monday, with more than 125 reporting injuries. Most were treated and released, she said.
An estimated 150 firefighters from 30 companies in Orange County and neighboring counties battled Monday’s blaze, which sent thick black smoke into the air, finally finishing the job about 12:15 a.m. Tuesday.
Seven firefighters from the city of Newburgh initially were reported as being among the injured when they were caught in the second explosion after responding to the first blast, though Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said Tuesday that the final number of injured firefighters was nine.
Verla issued a statement Tuesday that said Huntington, the man who died, was “a valued employee, and we ... are sorry to his friends and family for their loss.”
A co-worker, Juan Pablo Marcos, told The Associated Press that Huntington went back inside after the first explosion to make sure everyone had gotten out safely. Huntington still
was inside when the second blast occurred, Marcos said.
“That guy is like a hero,” said Marcos, employed in the shipping department for about a month. “He entered again to make sure no more ladies were in the building.”
Neuhaus called Monday’s incident a “tragic event” that “has deeply touched our community.” Of the employee who died, Neuhaus said: “We grieve the loss of Mr. Huntington, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Some of Verla’s approximately 250 employees lined up outside the firedamaged plant Tuesday to pick up personal belongings left behind when they scrambled to get out. Police kept people who don’t work for Verla away the factory Tuesday.
State health and environmental conservation specialists were sent to the scene to monitor air and water quality in the area around the plant, which includes a manufacturing operation and warehouse.
Verla’s website says the company was founded in 1980 and manufactures and packages cosmetics, nail polish, personal care items, lotions and fragrances.
Verla was cited for nine occupational safety violations earlier this year, according to records on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration website. One was related to problems with the handling of flammable and combustible liquids.
The federal agency also cited inadequacies relating to respirator protection for workers and the maintenance of exit routes. The company agreed to pay $41,000 in penalties.
In September 2005, a fired former employee of Verla International named Victor Piazza shot three people at the plant, one fatally, before taking his own life.
Killed in that attack was office manager Joann O’Brien, 48, of Warwick. The two people who survived the shooting were company co-owners Robert Roth, 65, of Wallkill, and Mario Maffei, 57, of Greenwich, Conn.
Piazza has been fired a year earlier after being found with child pornography on his company computer.