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Three West Virginia power plant employees were rescued on Saturday from a 100-story smokestack power plant fire and one is missing and presumed dead only days after one worker complained about the facility’s safety issues.
The men, employed by Pullman Power LLC, were installing fiberglass lining inside the stack of American Electric Power’s Kammer-Mitchell plant when the fire erupted, temporarily trapping them above the flames for two hours until a police helicopter rescue team arrived.
David Earley, the father of one the of rescued workers, told the Associated Press that his son complained of the unsafe working conditions a few days before the fire broke out. Allegedly, the lift used to haul up the workers and materials had no breaks and was being held only by its gears.
“There needs to be a safe alternative to get people down,” the elder Earley said. “My son asked for that.”
Earley’s son usually operated the equipment from the ground, but was told he would get fired if he didn’t go to the top of the stack on Saturday to complete the job. Allegedly, the employees were lifted to the top with no safety gear.
“My son didn’t have an air pack or safety harness. He called down and said he needed a safety harness and someone sent one up. All them boys would be dead if they didn’t have a safety harness,” the elder Earley said.
According to American Electric Power spokeswoman, Carmen Prati-Miller, the plant was unaware of the safety concerns of the workers and could not comment on the situation. However, the company is working to improve the coal-fired power plant so that it complies with federal air pollution regulations.
The rescued employees, David Earley, Jay McDonald, and Timothy Wells, were treated at a Pittsburg hospital. The missing worker, whose name cannot be released until his body is recovered, has two young children and a seven-month pregnant wife.
The cause of the fire has not been determined and Pullman engineers will decide when the plant will be safe enough to continue the search for the missing employee.