FFs Rescue Two Critically Injured in Fatal OH Plant Blast

An explosion at an Ohio paint plant early Thursday killed one person and injured eight others, including two critically who were rescued by firefighters.

The explosion happened at around midnight and ignited a two-alarm fire at the Yenkin-Majestic Paints plant in Columbus, the Columbus Dispatch reports. Although most employees were able to evacuate the facility, two people were trapped inside, and they were rescued by crews responding to the incident.

One employee—Wendell Light, 44—was under rubble after the building had collapsed. Firefighters were able to find him thanks to the daylight, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

In total, eight people were injured in the explosion. They were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition. 

More explosions erupted once the fire started, and at least one occurred at a nearby building on the facility's grounds. A hazardous material team and members of the state's Environmental Agency also were at the scene, according to the Dispatch.

The explosions not only tore through the paint plant, but they also shook windows of nearby homes and businesses.

"It rocked my whole house," James Scales told the Dispatch. "We jumped out of the bed. I thought a car rammed my home. I think the house shifted."  

James Scales, 52, was in bed when he felt the explosion from his home a few miles north.