Box Elder burn victim's condition is upgraded

A Box Elder student injured in a propane flash at Box Elder School on March 13 has been upgraded to fair condition.

Meanwhile, the field investigation into the flash is complete, and Hill County Sheriff Greg Szudera said this morning his department will move on to evaluating the tank that was the source of the propane.

Cassidy Pullin, 18, has been upgraded to fair condition, said Phil Sahm, a spokesman at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Pullin was critically injured in the incident and flown to the burn unit at the University of Utah Hospital the same day.

Three students and two art instructors were injured in the flash, which occurred during a glass beadmaking project in the school's Art-Tech Building. Pullin is the only one still in the hospital.

Box Elder Schools Superintendent Robert Heppner was unavailable for comment this morning.

Meanwhile, Hill County Sheriff's Office officials have finished interviewing people involved in the incident.

"The investigation is complete as far as our work is concerned in the field," Szudera said.

He said human error has not been ruled out. "There's a possibility of that, and there's a possibility of mechanical error," he said.

"What we're going to do is send the tanks in for an evaluation," Szudera said. He still has to find a lab to evaluate the tank.

Szudera said he did not know how long the evaluation of the tank would take.

As soon as the written report of the field investigation is completed by his deputy, Szudera said, it will be sent to the Hill County Attorney's Office.

"The county attorney will look it over and do what he has to do," he said.