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Worker Injured In Weld County Oil Tank Fire On Life Support

The girlfriend of a worker injured after an oil tank caught fire in northern Colorado says he's in medically induced coma and has several surgeries planned over the next few weeks.

Derae Caro told KMGH-TV that Dillon Dreher has been on life support since Saturday's fire at a group of oil tanks near Briggsdale, 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast of Greeley.

The tank battery operator, Mallard Exploration, says contractors were working on an out-of-service storage tank when sparks from a power tool ignited residual oil and vapor.

Caro and Dreher live with their 3-year-old daughter in Loveland and she says he sometimes worked for 18 hours straight to support them. Caro says Dreher has tried to move and open his eyes so he thinks he feels the presence of other people.

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