Worker burned in flash fire at Georgia pyrotechnic plant

BYRON, Ga. - An explosion and flash fire badly burned the head, face and hands of a worker at a pyrotechnic plant in Georgia, an official said.

The unidentified employee at Pyrotechnic Specialties, Inc. in Byron was airlifted Wednesday to a hospital in Atlanta to be treated for the burns, Peach County Fire Chief Jeff Doles told news outlets. The worker’s condition wasn’t immediately released.

The man was injured while turning potassium nitrate into pellets, Doles said. The chemical is used in fireworks, rocket propellants, gun powder and more.

This isn’t the first time a worker has been injured at the plant, news outlets reported. In 2016, an employee was hurt in an explosion, and a subsequent investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found seven violations that resulted in a more than $176,000 fine.

In 2008, the company was accused of manufacturing a faulty grenade that injured an FBI agent. The case was later thrown out by a judge, news outlets reported.