FREMONT 

A roof collapse at a Fremont sauerkraut company Wednesday left one man dead and three others injured. 

Nate Kern, 35, of Gibsonburg, died when a portion of the roof over the “cooking room” at The Fremont Company suddenly caved at about 1:40 p.m., police said.  

Two unnamed employees — one from B&W Welding, one from The Fremont Company — were taken by ambulance to Fremont Memorial Hospital shortly after the collapse, Fremont police Chief Tim Wiersma said. 

The Fremont Company employee was treated and released, while the B&W Welding employee was taken by medical helicopter to a Toledo hospital. 

A third B&W Welding employee, meanwhile — Todd Michael, 44 — remained trapped under debris for four hours until emergency crews could free him.

Michael spoke to firefighters throughout the rescue effort. Firefighters provided him water and monitored his vital signs, but the trapped welder was in considerable pain. 

Even so, he was coherent and able to provide rescuers information about the concrete slabs around him, Wiersma said. 

B&W Welding was hired to repair the roof above the company’s 40-by-50-foot cooking room. 

The three B&W employees were inside the building shoring up the roof with support beams when the roof caved in.

Wiersma said the rescue effort was especially tricky because a portion of uncollapsed roof was still extremely unstable. Dozens of rescue workers from across Northwest Ohio worked in shifts to prop up the damaged roof with wood planks and clear debris. 

They had to work carefully to prevent additional cave-ins, which would have injured or killed Michael or a rescuer.

As the afternoon wore on, temperatures peaked above 90 degrees. Red Cross workers handed out water and cold, damp towels to the rescue workers. Area pizza restaurants donated pizza to the crews. 

One firefighter was transported to Fremont Memorial Hospital for heat exhaustion but was later treated and released, Wiersma said. 

“Every time they shore up the damage, things shift around,” Wiersma said about midway through the rescue. “It’s like a big moving puzzle and they haven’t got the key yet.”

Fremont fire Chief Dan Devanna and members of the Northwest Ohio Urban Search and Rescue unit coordinated the rescue efforts. 

A medical helicopter flew in a Toledo surgeon, in the event Michael took a turn for the worse. Wiersma said rescuers were concerned they’d have to amputate Michael’s legs to save his life, since he was pinned by chunks of heavy debris. 

Just before the surgeon landed, however, rescue crews were able to pull Michael from the rubble with his legs still intact. They put him in an ambulance and drove him to a waiting helicopter. 

Firefighters held up white sheets as rescuers carried Michael to the helicopter, shielding him from onlookers and cameras. 

“We got him out, he has both his legs, he’s looking good, I heard him talk,” Wiersma said as the helicopter lifted off. “That is great news.”

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. Thursday: Fremont fire Chief Dan Devanna said Michael's condition had been upgraded from critical to serious at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo.

Michael’s family was relieved he’s safe, but the news is bittersweet, Wiersma said. 

Kern and Michael are relatives — possibly cousins. 

“This is a huge tragedy today and it could have been even worse,” Wiersma said. 

Early on in the effort, family and friends of factory workers gathered outside the company to look for loved ones. At the time, no one knew how many workers had been injured or killed.

“We were watching the news and we saw it,” said Jose Popoca. “We said, ‘What the hell is going on?’”

He and brother Manuel Popoca, both of Fremont, hurried to make sure none of their friends who work at the plant had been injured. 

“We were worried about them,” Jose Popoca said. 

Manuel Popoca said he used to work at the plant several years ago. 

“It was nice. I used to like working here,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen or when.”

Family and close friends of the victims frantically looked for information about their loved ones. Rescuers led a sister of one of the trapped men to the scene, as tears streamed down her face. Later, a man near the facility’s entrance broke down in tears as he learned Kern was dead. 

“It was my best friend,” he said, striding quickly to the scene.

Jane Hinojosa, of Fremont, said she worked 30 years at the family owned company, canning sauerkraut. 

“My house, I got it from (working) here,” she said, watching fire crews rush through the facility grounds. She still has friends at the plant and was concerned for their safety. 

Company spokesman Chris Smith said during a short press briefing that 50 employees work for The Fremont Company, which manufactures barbecue sauce, Frank’s sauerkraut and tomato-based foods. 

The 105-year-old company has been family owned for four generations. Workers were sent home soon after the collapse. 

B&W Welding is a small, family owned operation that started in 1963. The company’s tagline on its website states it’s a “family run business, mending everything but broken hearts.”