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Rincon man succumbs to blast injuries
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A Rincon man injured in the Feb. 7 explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth died early Thursday morning in an Augusta hospital.

Michael Kelly Fields, 40, died around 2:15 a.m. as a result of burns he suffered in the blast and fire at the refinery, according to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctor’s Hospital. Fields was a supervisor with Kirby Enterprises, a contractor at the Imperial Sugar plant. He suffered burns over 70 percent of his body, according to reports.

Fields was a native of the Dalton area and held the Northwest Whitfield High School record in the high jump at 6-feet-6, which he set in 1984. He graduated from Northwest Whitfield in 1986.

His funeral will be held in Dalton and Ponders Funeral Home is handling the arrangement. Fields, who was married the day after Thanksgiving, had lived in Rincon for about a year.

Fields’ death brings the toll from the explosion to nine killed. Forty people were hurt in the explosion, and 16 are recovering at the Still Burn Center. Of those 16, 14 were listed in critical condition and two are in serious condition.

Since last Friday, patients at the burn center have used 490 pints of blood, 331 units of plasma and have undergone 170 surgical procedures.

Following is a list of those killed in the blast, according to the Savannah Chatham Metro Police Department:

Eric Barnes

Truitt Byers

Shelathia Harvey

Earl Johnson

Earl Quarterman

Byron Singleton

Michael Williams

Tony Thomas