Workers burned at fair

View larger image Fire and rescue personnel lift a burn victim into a medical helicopter Sunday at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds in Woodstock. A fire involving a propane tank sent two people to the hospital. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Shenandoah County fire marshal Dave Ferguson walks outside the Fried Foods stand where two victims were burned after a fire Sunday afternoon involving a propane tank. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Mike Beaver, of Landis, NC , funnel cake stand operator at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds, speaks to fire marshal Dave Ferguson outside the fried food stand where a Sunday afternoon fire sent two people to the hospital suffering from burns. Rich Cooley/Daily

By Amber Marra - amarra@nvdaily.com

WOODSTOCK -- A fire at a food stand at the Shenandoah County Fair left two workers with severe burns after a propane leak Sunday afternoon, according to fire and rescue officials.

The two workers were preparing to open the Fried Frenzy booth at the fair around 2 p.m. when it is suspected that a propane leak caused what one witness called "a fireball" towards the back of the tent, according to John Collins, Shenandoah County Fire and Rescue public information officer.

Collins said that the two workers sustained "pretty severe" burns and were flown by helicopter to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville for treatment. Neither the extent of the injuries nor the ages of the victims were immediately known.

"Her legs were really white and he ran out [of the booth] screaming," said Matthew Johnson, 18, who works in the neighboring Funnel Cake stand.

The fire melted a large section of the back of the stand, which specializes in a variety of deep-fried food.

After the incident, rescue personnel secured the area and contained the leaking propane tank, which was a 100 pound cylinder, though it was unclear how much propane leaked out, according to Shenandoah County Fire Marshal David Ferguson. Due to the possibility of a continuous small leak, the tank was inspected and later removed from the fairgrounds.

According to Mike Beaver, a North Carolina vendor at the Funnel Cake stand, the fair does not conduct propane tank inspections before the booths open for business. The only event Beaver says he had been to that does conduct such inspections is the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.

Ferguson reported that in the past fair officials and fire and rescue personnel have always "responded in a prompt and efficient manner" in similar situations, one of which occurred in 2008 at the fair's demolition derby when an Edinburg man was taken to U.Va. after sustaining burns from a fire that started in his derby car.

"We're just like everyone else, we never have enough people when something like this happens," said Bill Rice, public safety coordinator for the Shenandoah County Fair.

Though it was not clear how the propane leak led to the fire, the fair remained open throughout the afternoon and the fire remains under investigation by Ferguson. Fire and rescue personnel from Woodstock, Edinburg, Toms Brook, and Shenandoah County all responded to the incident.

This is the first year the fair's board of directors contracted members of Woodstock Rescue Squad to be present at the fairgrounds all day, every day, Rice said. Every other year the fair has maintained safety and emergency action plans, however.