Defense technology plant closed after blast inquiry

A defense technology plant in East Camden producing flares for the military is closed pending an investigation into an explosion that injured two workers Monday evening, a company official said.

Esterline Defense Technologies officials are working with authorities to investigate the cause of the explosion at the plant in Highland Industrial Park, company spokesman Michelle DeGrand said Tuesday in a statement.

The plant will open when investigators are sure conditions are safe for employees, DeGrand said.

A man and a woman were injured in the blast and were taken by ambulance to Ouachita County Medical Center in Camden, Calhoun County Sheriff Bob Dunn said. The two were flown later to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock to be treated at the burn center, according to Ron Nash, assistant chief for the Camden Fire Department.

Wendy Hines, the female employee, had worked at Esterline for approximately nine months. She suffered burns to her hands, face, neck and chest, according to her sister, Christy Hines. Wendy Hines had a fracture in her elbow, a laceration in her leg from shrapnel, and her hair was singed off in the explosion, her sister said.

Hines was listed in fair condition Tuesday, according to Macia McCardle, an Arkansas Children’s Hospital representative. Hines was sitting up and trying to talk to family members Tuesday afternoon, her sister said.

“We are just grateful that she is alive,” Christy Hines said.

Officials have not released the name of the man who was injured, but he was in stable condition Tuesday and none of his injuries were life-threatening, according to the statement from DeGrand.

Camden firefighters responded to the scene at 6:55 p.m. Monday, shortly after the explosion, but by the time they arrived, all that was left of the blaze was “a little haze,” Nash said.

“By the time we got there, the incident was already over,” he said.

Firefighters stood by in case a fire flared up, Nash said. They remained overnight Monday to monitor the situation.