One seriously injured in Attleboro manufacturing facility fire

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WLNE)- A worker is fighting for his life after a flash fire at a manufacturing facility in Attleboro.

According to Attleboro Police Chief Scott Lachance, it happened on Thursday at about 2:45 p.m. at Composite Modules, located on Union Street.

The male employee was taken to an area hospital with what fire officials are calling life-threatening burns. Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux confirmed the victim is suffering about 80% burns.

ABC 6 News spoke to a spokesperson at the facility who says the victim has a wife and toddler. His name is not being released for privacy concerns.

“I’ve been in touch with his wife. We’re just hoping that and our main concern is that he’s okay and that his family is taken care of,” Jessica Rincon said. “That’s all we know right now, he’s still in the hospital. We still don’t know what caused it, what initiated it, nothing.”

A flash fire is a sudden, intense fire typically caused by the ignition of combustible material like dust, liquid aerosol, or gas.

The manufacturing facility produces motor controllers for the medical industry. Rincon says it happened while the worker was on a machine. She’s unsure what machine he was on and says she hasn’t been in the room since the fire broke out.

“Everybody was frightened because we didn’t know what was going on or what caused it,” Rincon said. “My main concern was to get everyone out of the building as soon as possible and let police and firefighters deal with it.”

Now, Attleboro Police and Fire and the State Fire Marshal are investigating. While that happens or until it’s deemed safe, Rincon says workers will stay home.

“It is closed down today. I don’t know for how much longer,” Rincon said. “We’ve got to make sure it’s safe for the employees and also the neighborhood for everybody to get back.”

ABC 6 News reached out to the company for comment. They released the following statement:

 “At this time we have no information to provide. Respecting the investigation process as well as making sure our personnel that are involved are ok and taken care of.”