Newark, NJ Airport: Two Electrical Workers Burned

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Newsday

2 Electricians Burned at NJ Airport

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- An electrical explosion and fire burned two workers Saturday, one critically, in a building at Newark International Airport, while a mock disaster drill was underway outside.

The two were working in an electrical closet at a FedEx building when a short circuit started the fire that set both workers' clothing ablaze, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport.

''They tried to put the fire out on each other by rolling on the ground, but there was very little room on the floor of this room. It was about the size of a small coat closet,'' said Coleman.

They eventually got outside and put out the flames, and got help from teams from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Union Hospital who were participating in a mock plane crash disaster drill.

One worker was released after treatment for burns on her hands and arms. The second was in critical condition, with first- and second-degree burns over 55 percent of his body.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), September 30, 2000


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