WILMINGTON, Ohio — A man is dead after a fire suppression system deployed a large amount of foam inside a Wilmington Air Park hangar Sunday, according to Clinton County officials.
The Wilmington Fire Department responded to the 1100 block of Airport Road at around 1:44 p.m. following the report of the activation of a fire suppression system in hangar 1006 at the air park. Clinton County confirmed Monday that there was no fire that caused the foam deployment and that they do not know what triggered the release.
At the time the foam was released, one employee was unaccounted for, officials said. On Monday, they said 55-year-old Tim Law, a production supervisor in the heavy maintenance department, died in the incident.
Officials said when first responders got there, they immediately began searching for Law, but had to vacate the hangar because of unsafe conditions. Other departments were called in to help, at which point the search was able to resume.
Eight firefighters were also injured while responding to the incident. Officials said they reported eye injuries, electrical shocks and other injuries. They have all been treated and released.
Photos provided by The Wilmington News Journal show foam from the hangar's automatic fire suppression system both inside and outside the building, with some firefighters covered in it.
“Our priority is on supporting the (victim's) family and ask that their privacy be respected at this point and time,” said Rich Corrado, President and CEO of Air Tranport Services Group, the parent company to Airborne Maintenance and Engineering services. “All the ATSG companies are focused on safety and reliability throughout our network. Safety and training are part of our culture and incidents such as what happened in hangar 1006 yesterday validate that focus.”
The State Fire Marshal's office is investigating the incident.
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