Police have identified the employee who was killed in a chemical explosion at a New Windsor cosmetic factory as 57-year-old William Huntington. Caitlin Landers reports. 

NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. -- A 57-year-old employee at Verla International has died and dozens others were injured in an explosion and fire at the New Windsor Cosmetic factory that has faced several OSHA violations in the past.

This has spurred a state investigation into what caused the destructive blast, and the county continues its investigation as well.

"The investigation is continuing into the cause," said Orange County Fire Coordinator Vini Tankasali. "We've been working with the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control, along with the Orange County Fire Investgiation team, which currently has the lead in the investgation portion of the fire."

It happened Monday morning just after 10 a.m. at the plant on Temple Hill Road. First responders say chemicals contributed to the fire and explosion that killed 57-year-old William Huntington and injured at least 37 people, including seven firefighters.

Two of those firefighters were transported to the Westchester Medical Center Burn Unit. None of the injuries from the fire are considered life-threatening.

A shelter in place order was lifted later in the afternoon after the DEC said no hazardous materials were released, and should not be a threat to drinking water. 

Earlier this year, Verla International was cited for multiple OSHA violations that were categorized as 'serious' -- including obstructed exits and walkways, the storage and grounding of hazardous chemicals, access to proper training with eye and respiratory protection and access to chemical flushing stations.

"I'm hoping that that didn't create a worse situation than it did, but we're going to find that out as the investigations continue," said Neuhaus.  

The day after the explosion, workers gathered their belongings left behind from the Verla bulding. More than 250 people wondered when they could get back to work.

"There's a lot of companies looking for workers, so anybody that is unemployed right now is going into a market that's hot, especially in Orange County," said Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, "so we're going to be working with our employment agency that we have in Orange County to help them get jobs."

Governor Andrew Cuomo says he wants state regulators to look into worker safety at the facility, conditions inside at the time of the fire, and compliance to fire regulations at the Verla plant, which primarily produces nail polish and perfumes. Other departments are checking to see what, if anything, contributed to the incident, like building code violations, boiler malfunctions, or gas and electric issues.