By Amanda Spadaro
The Times Herald-Record
After the first of two explosions rocked the Verla International factory at 10:15 a.m. Monday, dozens of firefighters -- some paid, most volunteers -- raced to the scene on Temple Hill Road.
They found chaos. Employees poured out of the burning building. They were using multiple exits, and many didn’t speak English, said Chris Sweeney, chief of the Vails Gate Fire Department.
Four City of Newburgh firefighters entered the cosmetics plant to search for employees who weren’t able to escape on their own.
Ed Klouda was among a group of Vails Gate firefighters who pulled up alongside the building in a ladder truck, then headed toward a rear entrance to join the search.
The fire grew rapidly, the heat intensified, and within minutes the firefighters began to retreat, Sweeney said.
That’s when the second explosion hit, at about 10:40 a.m.
Klouda was outside the building, about 30 feet away, when the blast blew a hole through the side of the building. A wave of fire washed over the ladder truck and then receded.
“Run,” thought Klouda, who was supposed to be enjoying a week of vacation. He tried to move, but the blast threw him to the ground. All he could see was thick, dark smoke and flames.
“It went from hardly anything to a fully engulfing fire around these guys in the blink of an eye, literally,” said Terry Ahlers, acting chief of the City of Newburgh Fire Department.
The Newburgh firefighters were trapped inside, including one who was briefly unaccounted for. He suffered second-degree burns and was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. Ahlers said he was expected to be released Tuesday evening.
Another city firefighter was trapped under a wall and broke an ankle, Ahlers said.
“We’re very lucky,” Ahlers said Tuesday at the firehouse, looking at a pair of charred, broken helmets.
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Long day for firefighters
For the 120 emergency workers from 30 agencies who responded to the disaster, the day was just beginning.
Klouda was in his firefighting gear from 10:30 a.m. until midnight.
After the second explosion, firefighters used water and foam hoses to quell the fire from outside until it was safe to re-enter the building, said Sweeney, who works in New York City and didn’t get to the scene until about 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Sweeney said the fire was largely contained to what appeared to be a rectangular addition on the side of Verla’s main building on Temple Hill Road.
That part of the building is a total loss, Sweeney said. Other parts sustained smoke and water damage.
In the evening, firefighters entered the building, removing debris and extinguishing hot spots, he said.
A special call went out specifically for tankers to limit the strain on hydrants, Sweeney said. The Air National Guard Fire Department provided foam used in fighting chemical fires to contain vapors.
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Equipment cleanup
Hours after leaving Verla, Vails Gate’s volunteers focused on a second cleanup, washing the acrid chemical smell off their equipment.
The ladder truck will need to be inspected, Klouda said.
Firefighters’ gear will need to be professionally cleaned, Sweeney added.
The firefighters who responded to the incident will undergo precautionary medical exams in the coming weeks, Sweeney said.
Ahlers expects three of Newburgh’s eight injured firefighters will return to work as early as next week. The five others will be out for about six weeks, he guessed.
In the meantime, the city’s 68-man force will fill shifts with overtime. Ahlers could not estimate the cost.
Copyright 2017 The Times Herald-Record