1 worker dies from injuries suffered in Letterkenny explosion

One person has died as a result of an explosion Thursday at Letterkenny Army Depot, the depot announced Friday morning.

Eric Byers, 29, of New Garden Township, Chester County, was pronounced dead just after 7 p.m. Thursday at Lehigh Valley Hospital, according to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of dedicated member of our LEAD family who was injured in Thursday’s explosion,” Col. Stephen Ledbetter, commander, said in a statement Friday announcing one of the injured workers had passed.

The coroner’s office ruled the death accidental and said the cause was “thermal injuries due to a fire.” Byers was handling chemicals when a flash fire erupted.

Ledbetter said two others remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Two others were also hospitalized and released Thursday.

“On behalf of the families and workforce, the depot requests respect and privacy for all those involved,” Ledbetter said.

Ledbetter continued: “The entire Letterkenny family is mourning this loss. We continue to keep the families and all of our teammates in our hearts and prayers.”

Chaplains and counselors have deployed to Letterkenny where they are providing counseling support.

Emergency personnel descended on Letterkenny Army Depot north of Chambersburg around 7:20 a.m. Thursday for a fire and explosion in the paint shop of Building 350, the largest building on the 18,000-acre depot. Ledbetter said the fire was quickly knocked down. In a press conference later, he did not describe the damage.

The Letterkenny safety officer and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration are investigating the incident, according to Ledbetter. Letterkenny is cooperating with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in assessing any environmental issues.

OSHA has six months to investigate and release its findings.

More: What does Letterkenny Army Depot do?

Ledbetter said he could not think of a similar incident at Letterkenny in recent history.

Letterkenny received a national safety award in 2012, but in the past two years, four workers on depot were severely injured in four separate incidents.

“What we do here is inherently dangerous,” Ledbetter told reporters on Thursday. Employees “are trained to react if something happens. I could not be prouder of the workforce today.”

Building 350 employees went home for the day and other shifts were canceled. The building reopens for the third shift on Sunday.

This is the fifth workplace death in Franklin County this year.