fed completed product by a network of elevators and conveyor belts. Many of the buildings at this location were six to eight stories high with narrow gaps in between. Ambulances responded to the scene from across twelve counties, and firefighters from three. The United States Coast Guard closed off the river in the area, and a firefighting tugboat was used to douse the fire from the river. A helicopter was used to search the river for anyone who may have been thrown into it by the blast. Refinery workers were brought in to assist with search and rescue operations, as emergency services personnel were unfamiliar with the plant's layout. Red Cross worker Joyce Baker, who was among the first to arrive at the scene, reported that it was like "walking into hell", with some of the men she treated having "no skin at all", while others had skin "just dripping off them". The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMHSA) alerted local hospitals to prepare for up to 100 casualties. A doctor at nearby Memorial Health Hospital described patients arriving at an emergency triage as varying in condition from suffering minor burns to their hands to having received 80-90 percent burns, with many in critical condition, and one with 95 percent burns. The victims' ages ranged from 18 to 50. Many victims were placed in artificial comas because they were on life support systems. Eight were transported by helicopter to the specialized Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, about an hour away. Five of those injured later died there while receiving treatment. A church close to the refinery was used as a point for families seeking information on relatives employed at the facility. So many people turned up that police requested that each family send only one representative. At the close of the day of the explosion, six people were missing, with no confirmed deaths. Overnight, several deep-seated fires were uncovered and firefighting continued the next day. Most of the three-mile (5 km) stretch of river that had previously been closed was reopened without restriction, although a patrol remained in place to enforce a safety zone. The river restrictions delayed one outgoing vessel and two incoming ones. There was also a minor oil spill originating from equipment at the refinery's unoccupied and rarely used dock. The explosion seriously weakened the structure of the refinery, leaving it highly unstable. There was also