Zimmer Worker Critical After Furnace FireA furnace fire injured three people and caused the evacuation of a local orthopedic company in Boggs Industrial Park Thursday afternoon.
Around 2 p.m. Thursday, a fire started in Zimmer Building 5 in Boggs Industrial Park, Warsaw. The company is releasing very little information about the incident at this time.
One employee, Devon "Bud" Garman, a 28-year Zimmer employee, suffered severe burns and was airlifted to St. Joseph Regional Burn Center, Fort Wayne, for treatment. As of this morning, Garman was listed in critical condition.Two other injured employees were treated at Kosciusko Community Hospital and released. Their names have not been released by Zimmer Inc.
No other employees were known to have suffered injuries in the incident.
According to a press release from Brad Bishop, director of public relations at Zimmer, "Recovery efforts in the facility are proceeding according to emergency procedures and operations will resume as areas are cleared for work to resume."
Approximately 1,500 employees work in Zimmer Building 5. The cause and nature of the fire were not immediately released.
"Zimmer appreciates the cooperation of its employees and local fire and emergency authorities in responding to the fire that occurred in our Building 5 facility Thursday afternoon," Bishop said in a press release. "The safety of our employees is our first priority and with the commitment of our employees, we have established a very good safety record over many years."
Bishop continued, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the employees involved and their families. The company is arranging for support measures for Bud's family."
As a result of the fire, Zimmer has asked employees in Building 5, except for those in maintenance and buildings & grounds, not to report to work today. Other employees were asked to report to work on plant restart teams or in other Zimmer facilities, as instructed by their supervisors.
Bishop said the company and a team of outside specialists are investigating the incident, but no cause for the fire has been determined. He added that the company will be working over the holiday weekend to accomplish any needed clean-up prior to resuming operations in Building 5.
