2 suffer serious burns in fuel tank fire

HAMPDEN — A man engulfed in flames who ran from a burning fuel tank at the Cold Brook Energy Co.’s tank farm Tuesday afternoon

Mieczysalw Delekta, 37, residence unknown, was one of two people who were seriously burned during the fire inside the fuel tank on Route 1A in Hampden. He was rushed to Eastern Maine Medical Center and later was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The tank, which normally contains diesel fuel, was empty and a crew of three workers from Industrial Painting Inc. of Plainfield, N.J., was inside applying an epoxy resin to the floor, said Lt. William Leighton of the Bangor Fire Department.

The tank had been labeled free of any fuel residue by a chemist about two weeks ago, Leighton said. Epoxy resin is applied routinely to keep the tank in good structural condition, he said.

Fire investigators could not determine Tuesday what sparked the fire because they were having a difficult time communicating with the Polish workers who spoke no English.

A second worker, Zenon Kalafut, 28, residence unknown, received second-and third-degree burns over 20 percent of his body and was in EMMC’s intensive care unit Tuesday afternoon, according to Leighton.

The road around the tank farm was shut down by police, who tried to keep curious onlookers at a distance while fire departments from Hampden, Bangor and the Air National Guard began spraying a mixture of foam and water onto the tank.

The tank that burned was surrounded by several other tanks that contained gasoline and No. 2 fuel oil, Leighton said. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the inside of the tank, eliminating the threat of its spreading to the other tanks.

Dick Flagg of Milford saw the first victim run from the tank. He and co-workers from the Holden Co. in Bangor were working on the new Bangor Waste Water Treatment Plant next door and were alerted to the problem by the sound of “ungodly screams.”

Flagg and co-workers Mark Larson and Carl Morin were having lunch when they heard the screams and looked up to see a man who was on fire running between the tanks.

“He looked like one of the stunt men you see in the movies. He was on fire from head to toe,” said Flagg.

Flagg, Morin and Larson ran to help the man and began trying to pat the flames out with their jackets. The victim’s co-workers began spraying him with a fire extinguisher.

“He was smoldering. His gloves were melted to his hands. We were trying to cut his clothes off him. We did the best we could. He was just screaming in pain. He was just running crazy and in such ungodly pain. All we had was a little drinking water to put on him,” Flagg said.

A burning fuel tank is a tremendously dangerous situation, Leighton said.

“We’ve seen training films of actual propane tank fires where firefighters and equipment have just been consumed when one of those tanks explode,” said Leighton.

Representatives of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, who were at the tank farm Tuesday afternoon, plan to investigate, said Stu Jacobs of the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

The tools being used by the workers were taken to a state laboratory for examination to determine whether they were suitable for use under the conditions, Jacobs said.

The U.S. Immigration Service is conducting its own investigation into the legal residency of the workers, Jacobs said.

Firefighters remained at the tank farm for most of the afternoon because it took a long time to cool the tank to a point where it would not pose a threat of reigniting, Leighton said.

“This was a real cooperative effort between all the agencies involved,” Leighton said.

The fire departments from Hampden, Bangor and the Air National Guard worked together well and were able to keep the fire under control. Fire marshal agents were on the scene within a few minutes of receiving the call, and numerous ambulance attendants from Capital Ambulance remained nearby throughout the ordeal, he said. Police from Bangor and Hampden worked together on traffic diversion and crowd control.