ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL)—Gerald O’Connor, president and CEO of Impact Plastics, released a preliminary internal review of events and a video on Thursday night related to the Sept. 27 flood at the Riverview Industrial Park in Erwin.
Impact Plastics has allegedly received death threats since the flood, according to O’Connor. Because of these threats, he prepared a video statement that can be viewed below:
O’Connor said no further public comments will be made while the TBI and TOSHA complete investigations, but the company will cooperate fully.
Impact Plastics also provided a detailed timeline of events that can be read below:
Preliminary Review – October 3, 2024
Impact’s first shift began at 7:00 AM on the morning of September 27, 2024, as usual. At that time, there had been no flooding alert or warning. Written evacuation plans were posted in conspicuous areas of the plant many months prior to September 27th, 2024.
Impact Plastic’s Inc. (“Impact Plastics”) parking lot is in a low-lying area between South Industrial Drive and the plant building. Runoff from adjacent properties and surrounding property often pools in its parking lot during or after heavy rain and often necessitates employees and other visitors at the plant to move their cars.
Water began to pool in the parking lot around 10:35 AM on the morning of September 27th, 2024, which is not an unusual occurrence. Public warnings were disseminated via cell phones at approximately 10:40 AM, coinciding with a power outage occurring at 10:39 AM.
A decision was made within minutes of the power outage to shut the plant down and dismiss all employees including supervisors. Employees were directed to leave the plant property within minutes of the power outage and certainly no later than 10:50 AM. Bilingual employees translated the announcement in Spanish. Senior management conducted a walkthrough of the facility and attempted to move the company’s server and other important documents. They exited the building around 11:35 and were the last individuals to leave.
Subsequent analysis of recorded video footage and photographs has identified both current and missing employees who left the property of Impact Plastics and remained on South Industrial Drive for approximately 45 minutes after the plant’s closure.
This group has since been either rescued or reported as missing or deceased. Review also indicates that when employees were dismissed as water was pooling in Impact Plastic’s parking lot, but South Industrial Drive, in front of the plant appears to have been passable. The water pooled in the parking lot was approximately six inches deep as indicated by the water level shown at the bottom of small passenger cars parked at the time reviewed by the company.
To Impact Plastic’s knowledge, no one was ever trapped in the building or on its premises.
Impact Plastics is aware of the allegations circulated on social media that employees who asked to leave were told not to leave by their supervisors and that supervisors left the plant before other plant employees were dismissed. The allegations are false. Impact did not prohibit its employees from leaving. It did not threaten anyone with discharge from employment. Its senior management were the last, not the first, to leave. Senior management was the last to leave approximately 45-minutes after the plant had been closed and all other employees had been dismissed. Impact Plastics made decisions based on the information available at the time.
In times like these, words feel inadequate to express the depth of sorrow we are all feeling. The recent flood has devastated our plant and, more tragically, taken the lives of some of our dear colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones.
Impact Plastics
