Box Elder landfill worker seriously burned in gasoline fire

A 25-year-old woman was in serious condition Thursday after she was burned in a gasoline fire at the Box Elder County landfill.

Box Elder County Chief Deputy Sheriff Kevin Potter said the fire was not an explosion as initially reported, but a "flash fire" that ignited as the landfill employee was refilling a gasoline tank on a trash compactor about 9:20 a.m. Thursday.

The woman, who sustained non-life threatening burns to her upper torso, was conscious when emergency medical personnel arrived at the landfill, located at 9595 W. 6800 North in Tremonton. She initially was taken to Tremonton's Bear River Valley Hospital and then flown by helicopter to the University of Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City.

The victim's name was not released pending notification of her family, Potter said.

Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be looking into cause of the fire, Potter said.

remims@sltrib.com