Contractor Burned in Diesel Fire

A local contractor is in critical condition at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield as the result of an accident in Quincy Friday morning.

Quincy firefighters were called to ADM’s grain dock facility at 400 South Front Street just after 7:30 a.m. Friday.

They found that an employee of Neil Oil Company, 56 year old Kenneth Pratt, had been severely burned.

Quincy Fire Chief Joe Henning reports Pratt was involved in a transfer of diesel fuel from one tank to another when a spark of some kind ignited fuel vapors.

Pratt was taken first to Blessing Hospital and then transferred to Springfield.

According to a Facebook page called, “Team Papa Kenny,” Pratt is in a drug induced coma with second and third degree burns over 60 to 70 percent of his body.