Fire Officials Believe Accident Led to Deadly Explosions, Fire at NY Cosmetics Plant
Authorities announced Monday night that the body of a male employee had been found inside the factory
A local official in New Windsor said two explosions rocked Verla International in Orange County on Monday
Thirty-three people were hurt, including firefighters; one worker at Verla International was later found dead inside
The company produces nail polish and cosmetics, among other beauty products, according to its website
Fire officials say they believe an accident caused the explosions at an Upstate cosmetics factory that killed one man and injured more than 125 people Monday morning.
The Vails Gate Fire Department said Friday morning that an investigation is ongoing, but the cause of the explosions and fire is believed to be accidental.
Orange County fire investigators have been looking for clues to what touched off two explosions about 25 minutes apart at Verla International in New Windsor, 55 miles north of New York City. Some of the cosmetics manufacturer's approximately 250 employees lined up outside the fire-damaged plant to pick up personal belongings left behind when they scrambled to get out after the first blast erupted around 10:15 a.m.
Firefighters from nearby Newburgh responded, and several were inside the facility when the second explosion ripped through part of the complex. Officials initially said up to 35 people were injured, including seven firefighters, and one person was unaccounted for.
Worker Killed in New York Plant Explosion
The body of a worker was discovered inside Verla International plant after a pair of explosions rocked the facility. (Published Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017)
Kate Dabroski, a spokeswoman for St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital, said Tuesday that the number of people treated increased substantially later Monday, with more than 125 people reporting injuries. Most were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released.
Also on Tuesday officials identified the deceased worker as William Huntington, 57, of Newburgh. Firefighters found his body inside the building about nine hours after the explosions, police said.
"Bill was a valued employee and we at Verla are sorry to his friends and his family for their loss," the company said.
A co-worker, Juan Pablo Marcos, told The Associated Press that Huntington had gone back inside after the first explosion to make sure everyone had gotten out safely. Huntington was still 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."
The explosions sent thick black smoke spewing into the air while flames shot out of the damaged section of the factory's roof. More than 100 firefighters from across the county and from neighboring counties fought the blaze, and authorities said their efforts continued until just after midnight Monday.
Twin Explosions Rock NY Manufacturing Plant
A pair of explosions rocked a gigantic cosmetics manufacturing plant in New York's Orange County Monday, injuring nearly three dozen people and spewing thick plumes of noxious black smoke from the roof and the blasted-out sides of the building, according to authorities and footage posted to social media. Ida Siegal and Jen Maxfield report.(Published Monday, Nov. 20, 2017)
Police kept non-employees away from the factory Tuesday while utility crews worked on the property.
The 37-year-old company's website says it manufactures and packages nail polish, cosmetics, personal care, lotions and fragrances. Earlier this year, Verla was cited for nine occupational safety violations, according to records on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's 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 late September 2005, a worker who had been fired a year earlier after being found with child pornography on his company computer entered the factory and fatally shot the office manager and wounded co-owners Mario Maffei and Robert Roth. The gunman then killed himself.
A woman answering the phone at Maffei's Greenwich, Connecticut, home said he wasn't available. A voice message left at a number listed for Roth wasn't returned.
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NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. (AP) — The Latest on the explosions and fire at an upstate New York cosmetics factory that killed one person and injured more than 125 others (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
A New York cosmetics factory employee who survived a workplace explosion says a co-worker was killed by a second blast that occurred after he had gone back inside to make sure everyone had evacuated.
Juan Pablo Marcos says he was in a different part of the factory when the first explosion tore through Verla International on Monday morning. He says workers began running and screaming for everyone to get out.
Marcos says an employee went back inside the New Windsor complex to see if anyone was left behind when a second explosion occurred about 25 minutes later. Police later identified him as 57-year-old William Huntington, of nearby Newburgh.
More than 125 people were injured, including seven firefighters who were inside when the second blast erupted.
12:14 p.m.
Officials say the number of people treated for injuries after two explosions and a fire at an upstate New York cosmetics factory has topped 125.
Firefighters work at the scene of a factory fire in New Windsor, N.Y., Monday, Nov. 20, 2017. Authorities say two explosions and a fire at the Verla International cosmetics factory in the Hudson Valley about an hour north of New York City have left multiple people injured, including firefighters caught in the second blast. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Authorities initially said one employee was killed and up to 35 people were injured, including seven firefighters. The blasts erupted Monday morning inside the Verla International plant in New Windsor, 55 miles (88 kilometers) north of New York City.
A spokeswoman for St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital said Tuesday that the number of people treated increased substantially later Monday, with more than 125 people reporting injuries. Most were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released.
The deceased worker was identified Tuesday as 57-year-old William Huntington, of nearby Newburgh.
State and local authorities are trying to determine what triggered the blasts.