Fourth man dies from fire

The worker had been in critical condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital since the Feb. 1 blast and fire.

Ken Anderson of Wyandotte died at 9:45 a.m. at the hospital's burn unit, said hospital spokesperson Mattie Majors.

Eleven other workers injured in the blast were still hospitalized yesterday - seven in critical condition, three in serious and one whose condition was not being released.

Warren Blow of Dearborn Heights died Friday at University Hospitals. Cody Boatwright died at the same hospital on Feb. 5. Donald Harper died on the day of the explosion.

A state investigator said a natural gas buildup led to the explosion at the electrical generating station that served the 1,100-acre suburban Detroit complex. A final determination of the cause is expected later this month.

The complex employs 7,000 people to make Ford Mustangs, as well as engines and a variety of other vehicle components used at 16 of Ford's 20 North American assembly plants. Production resumed early last week.

Rouge Steel Co., a former Ford subsidiary that also employs 3,100 workers at the site, resumed limited production Thursday.

Blow was a boiler operator and worked in a room just outside the boiler that blew up in the complex's electrical power station, coworkers told the Detroit Free Press. Boatwright was a welder, and Harper was a pipefitter.

There was no immediate word on Anderson's work.

Two more workers injured in the blast - John Arsenau of Dearborn, and Ron Moritz of Melvindale - remain in critical condition at the University Hospital.

Three other workers in serious condition at the University hospital included Ralph Irvin of Detroit; Geremia Villalta of Allen Park; and John Kucharski of Howell. Gerald Nyland whose hometown was unavailable, was in fair condition, spokesperson Pete Barkey said yesterday.

The family of another injured worker, Chris Getts of Livonia, has asked that the University hospital release no information about his condition.

All the men's lungs were burned by hot gases. They had burns to up to 60 percent of their bodies.

Two others remained in critical condition at Detroit Receiving Hospital.

Three others - John Sklarczyk of Detroit, Gerald Moore of Garden City, and Dennis Arrington of Detroit - were in critical condition at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio.

Plants at the complex make Ford Mustangs as well as engines and a variety of other vehicle components used at 16 of Ford's 20 North American assembly plants. Production at the plant resumed last week.

02-15-99