AbitibiBowater officials say the investigation into a fire that broke out Thursday afternoon at the Calhoun paper mill is continuing.
Phillip Shelton, a longtime employee who was part of the mill’s emergency response team, was injured while responding to the fire, AbitibiBowater spokesman Pierre Choquette said Friday.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family,” Choquette said.
Shelton, who worked at the mill for 21 years, is being treated at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga.
Burn center spokeswoman Anne Cordeiro said Shelton was listed in critical condition. No further information could be released, Cordeiro said.
Employees discovered the fire about 5 p.m. Thursday in a coal storage bunker used to store fuel for one of the mill’s industrial boilers, Choquette said. There was little detailed information available on the cause of the fire until the probe is complete, he said.
Choquette said the mill’s in-house emergency responders were assisted by emergency agencies from McMinn and Bradley counties.