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Update on two workers killed in construction fire in Henrico

Posted at 6:53 PM, Nov 22, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-22 18:53:31-05

HENRICO, Va. (WTVR)--Earlier in the month, two construction workers died in a flash fire.

Both the state and Henrico county have open investigations into the incident.

The incident happened on November 1st at an empty warehouse located on 7400 Impala Drive in Henrico. The initial call was reported at 7400 Ranco Road.

However, CBS’s Melissa Hipolit obtained the incident report from the Henrico Fire Department that sheds more light on how the two men lost their lives.

Stephanie Rodrigues is having trouble sleeping ever since her fiancé died, along with another man, inside the warehouse.

“He`s done work like this before...and no injuries have happened,” said Rodrigues.

So far, Rodrigues said she has gotten no answers about what happened.

“I`m dying to know...I can`t eat, I can’t sleep...why why,” said Rodrigues.

On November 1st, Christian Martoni and Jason Romanczuk were in Henrico doing work for a company called Hadley Construction  based in Pittston, Pennsylvania.

The two were salvaging materials from inside a warehouse that used to house a large printing company called Quebecor.

According to the incident report obtained from the Henrico Fire Department, the men were cutting pipes that once carried printing ink with sparking power tools.

Those tools may have provided an ignition for a chemical that was mixed with the printing ink.

The report said it appears that is what caused a flash fire that burned both victims.

Jason Romanczuk’s brother, Jeffrey, said it never should have happened.

“Every pipe is supposed to be empty...that`s just how their jobs go...if you go into salvage something, and you`re knocking down vents everything is supposed to be cleared out of that building or workers shouldn`t be working there,” said Jeffrey Romanczuk.

The report said a burning puddle of ink was found on the floor directly under the pipe.

It also said the cause of the fire is still undetermined because there were a few possible ignition sources.

The sparks from various tools the men were using or an open flame from a cigarette.

The new information just means more questions for the family.

“I  want to know if they inspected this building before these two men lost their lives,” said Rodrigues.

“I just want answers into what happened in that warehouse,” said Romanczuk.