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MENTONE - An explosion and flash fire Saturday morning at a Mentone business left one man in critical condition.
Richard Grimm, 38, of Mentone, was airlifted from Valley Foods (formerly Kralis Brothers Foods), Tinkey Road, Mentone, after the 9:18 a.m. incident.
According to Mentone Fire Department Chief Butch Warren, Grimm, an employee of Craig Welding of Mentone, was working at Valley Foods to replace roof support rafters in the chicken processing plant when the cutting torch apparently ignited a previously undetected natural gas leak.
The natural gas was pocketed in a false ceiling in the area where Grimm was working to cut out the final rafter. When the explosion occurred, Grimm was blown off the ladder from which he was working and onto a cement floor. A flash fire occurred along with the explosion, but it burned itself out almost immediately, Warren said. Firefighters worked to help emergency medical personnel and to set up the landing zone for the helicopter ambulance.
Grimm suffered burns to the right side of his face and Warren said it is believed Grimm also inhaled some of the flame. He also suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a concussion. He was airlifted from the scene to Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, where he reportedly is comatose.
