CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) - Four employees were injured by a small explosion and fire Thursday morning in one of the major production areas of the Letterkenny Army Depot in Franklin County.
Depot commander Col. Stephen Ledbetter said three workers were flown to Baltimore area hospitals.
Ledbetter did not specify what injuries the workers received and did not have their conditions at a 1 p.m. news conference, but earlier he said the civilian employees sustained injuries he would "classify as serious."
The Franklin Fire Company said the workers were airlifted for burns.
A fourth worker was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The Associated Press reported the worker was treated for minor non-burn injuries and released.
The explosion and fire occurred in Building 350 around 7:20 a.m. The 320,000 square foot facility is used for painting military vehicles and equipment, and the injured workers were "supporting painting operations," Ledbetter said.
More than 300 workers were evacuated from the building and then sent home for the day. Second and third-shift workers were told not to report.
Ledbetter said the depot expected to resume normal operations in the paint area on Sunday, beginning with the third shift.
Normal operations continue across the rest of the depot.
Officials continue to investigate what caused the explosion. Ledbetter said the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is assisting, and they're looking at "all angles, all avenues."
He said there is "no suspicion of terrorist activity at this time."
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By Mark Scolforo, Associated Press |
Updated: Thu 12:04 PM, Jul 19, 2018
LETTERKENNY, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on an explosion at a Pennsylvania Army depot (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
A worker has been treated and released from a hospital after receiving minor injuries in an explosion at a Pennsylvania Army depot.
The worker had been taken by ambulance early Thursday to a hospital near the Letterkenny Army Depot, about 160 miles (257 kilometers) west of Philadelphia, shortly after the explosion and fire at a paint operation of a vehicle shop. A hospital spokeswoman says the worker did not receive treatment for burns, but did not release further details of the injury.
Officials say three other employees were airlifted to Baltimore area hospitals with burn-related injuries. Their conditions were not immediately known.
Army officials say the cause of the blast is still under investigation. It was contained to a single area of the depot, and there was no suspicion of terrorist activity.
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A small explosion Thursday in a vehicle shop at an Army depot injured four workers, leaving at least three with burns, officials said.
The blast occurred at Letterkenny Army Depot about 7:15 a.m. Army Depot officials quickly posted on social media that the blast was contained, that operations elsewhere on the base would not be affected and that there was no suspicion of terrorist activity.
Col. Stephen Ledbetter, the depot commander, said three victims were flown to Baltimore area hospitals and the fourth left in an ambulance.
A fire company said three had burns. Their conditions were not immediately available.
Ledbetter said the explosion occurred in the painting area of a vehicle shop.
Both the Army and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate, he said.
The depot, located 160 miles (257 kilometers) west of Philadelphia, or about 55 miles (88 kilometers) southwest of Harrisburg, employs about 3,600 people. The depot's website says work there focuses on air defense tactical missile ground support equipment, mobile electric power generation equipment, Patriot missile recertification and route guidance vehicles.
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Letterkenny Army Depot (originally Letterkenny Ordnance Depot), the Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence (CITE) for Air Defense and Tactical Missile Systems, was established in 1942. The Depot is under the command structure of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM). The facilities at Letterkenny are used to conduct maintenance, modification, storage, and demilitarization operations on tactical missiles and ammunition.
Located primarily in Letterkenny Township and extending into Greene Township and Hamilton Township, all in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, just northwest of the borough of Chambersburg, the Depot consists of nearly 18,000 acres (71 km²). It is the largest employer in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and adds over one-quarter of a billion dollars annually to the region's economy.