2 Burned, Injured In Major Building Fire In Pawnee County

Two burn victims are in the hospital after an explosion in Pawnee County Tuesday afternoon.

The fire chief said the victims were alert and talking before they went to the hospital.

Firefighters responded to the scene around 1:30 p.m. and continued to battle the fire late into the night.

Cell phone video shows the entire building in flames as firefighters try to do what they can.

Cleveland's fire chief, Ryan Murray, said they got the call of an explosion at 1:30 Tuesday afternoon at the ICES building, which manufactures airplane parts.

“A lot of equipment, a lot of products,” Murray said. “These tin buildings are like an oven. The biggest thing was getting the smoke and heat out of the building.”

The chief said two employees were inside at the time, cleaning floors, when they heard something explode.

Murray said fire got into the ceiling and spread quickly throughout the building.

The chief said the building is a total loss; he said ICES has several dozen employees who don't know if they'll have a place to work.

“It's pretty devastating. I mean, you've got 50, 60 people who don't know what the future is for right now,” he said. As far as for me, I'm physically ill right now. I'm physically ill.”

The fire chief said he does not know what caused the explosion.

The state fire marshal will be here in the morning.