The Tennessee manufacturer denies telling employees they would be fired because of their departure

UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (WCYB/CNN/CNN Newsource/WKRC) – Impact Plastics, a Tennessee manufacturing company, said it denied telling its employees they would be fired if they left the plant.

Three bodies were discovered after extensive flooding from Hurricane Helene in Unicoi County, Tennessee. The search continues as floodwaters surged through the rural community, damaging homes, businesses and even the local hospital.

Families of people missing from Impact Plastics in Unicoi County are growing increasingly impatient. They use friends to translate across a language barrier and wonder why no one has responded to their cries for help.

“I want to know why help didn’t come to save the people who were there, including his wife. There were five people on the roof of a trailer who called 911 and called for help,” a translator said, according to WCYB.

In a statement, Impact Plastics said: “At no time were employees informed that they would be fired if they left the facility. Among the employees who did not speak English, bilingual employees were among the group of managers who delivered the message.”

Speaking to WVLT, Impact Plastic employee Jacob Ingram claimed that the manufacturing company could have saved more lives if employees had been able to leave earlier.

“I didn’t hear anyone say ‘leave’ or anything like that. I actually asked one of the supervisors,” Ingram told WVLT reporters. “They told me ‘No, not yet.’ You have to ask someone before we could leave, even though it was already over the doors and the cars and everything else.”

Ingram told the station that he was swept away by the floodwaters but was able to climb onto a tractor-trailer before being rescued by a helicopter.

According to WVLT, citing information released by Impact Plastics, at least two employees were killed, a contractor and six other employees are still missing.

“Our great emergency services here in the district were at full capacity. They did everything they could to save lives that day. Some were saved. We’re still looking for some. “We still hope we find more alive,” Unicoi County Emergency Management Director Jimmy Erwin said, according to WCYB.

Emergency management officials said they were able to rescue four people from the business but noted their resources were stretched thin in several rescues, including at Unicoi County Hospital. Hospital officials told WCYB that the water was so fast that attempts to drive patients out and then use boats to get them out failed.

“It’s hard to estimate time on something so fast. It was constant movement and rescue efforts,” Unicoi County Hospital employee Jennifer Harrah told WCYB.

Crews are currently working to construct a temporary emergency room at Unicoi County High School. Ballad Health is committed to rebuilding.

“I don’t know what the plan is at the moment. We are still in the process of responding to all of this. So we need a bit of time to figure this all out. This community is part of our family and we will not give it up,” said Alan Levine, CEO of Ballad Health.

At least 128 people have died in six states from Hurricane Helene, with North Carolina having the most fatalities at 56.

The leadership team of Impact Plastics, Inc. (“Impact Plastics”) of Erwin, Tennessee, expresses condolences for the missing and deceased employees and a contractor during the historic and devastating flooding at its facility on Friday, September 27th.

“We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees,” said Gerald O’Connor, who founded the company in Erwin in 1987. “Those who are missing or deceased and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Impact Plastics is located in Riverview Industrial Park. On the morning of September 27th, it had rained heavily the night before, but eased as the morning progressed.

The company continued to monitor weather conditions. When water began to cover the parking lot and adjacent access road and the facility lost power, employees were laid off by management so they could return to their homes in time to escape the industrial park.

According to WCYB, most employees left immediately, but some remained on or near the site for unknown reasons. Management and their assistants remained busy monitoring employee departures, assessing damage, and preserving company records. According to the station, they were the last to leave the building.

• Below is the full statement from Impact Plastics:

“As the flooding escalated, some employees left the industrial park in a truck owned by a neighboring company and driven by a driver employed by that company. Others left the industrial area via the CSX railroad behind the facility as there was ongoing flooding outside the front door. Due to the rapidly rising water, the truck overturned and five other employees who were also on the truck were able to get to safety and were later evacuated. At the railway tracks, employees of an adjacent company offered them help to get to safety.

The management was looking for emergency helpers to carry out further rescue attempts for the employees. A National Guard helicopter was then dispatched to rescue five employees who were airlifted to safety.

A recovery center is currently being established to assist current Impact Plastic employees and provide additional information about their benefits and local employment opportunities. These employees will be informed when and where the facility will soon be open.

The company plans to reopen its operations in the future.

Impact Plastics remains committed to supporting its employees and helping them access available resources following the devastating disaster [sic] Impact of the devastating floods of September 27, 2024.”