Update: 6 a.m. -- A fourth person has died from the TECO Big Bend industrial accident on June 29. Officials and Mark Gaffin, of Gaffin Industrial Services, confirmed with Bay News 9 that Frank Jones passed away from his injuries Saturday evening. Jones was an employee at Gaffin Industrial Services and was contracted by TECO during the time of the accident.
Original Report: Hundreds gathered at an Apollo Beach restaurant on July 6 to raise funds meant to help some of the victims of last week's TECO industrial accident at Big Bend Power Station and their families.
- Fundraiser organized by Gaffin Industrial Services
- Two Gaffin employees -- Frank Lee Jones and Gary Marine Jr. -- still recovering
- Gaffin also employed Chris Irvin, who died in the accident
- PREVIOUS STORY: Fundraisers set up for workers injured in TECO industrial accident
Gaffin Industrial Services, the contractor several of the men work for, held a fundraising raffle at Alpha Pizza and Pasta Restaurant.
Christopher Irvin, who was killed, was one of their workers. Frank Lee Jones and his son-in-law, Gary Marine Jr. are two others who were both critically injured.
Jones' wife and Marine's mother, Tracy Jones, attended the event.
"My life is at a standstill," Tracy said. "People can't even begin to know what I'm going through on a day to day basis."
She calls Jones her "rock" -- they were childhood sweethearts who reunited later in life and married. As for Marine, she called him her "baby."
"My husband and my son are what I fight for. Not one day, but everyday," she said.
Gaffin's President, Mark Gaffin, said he wanted the event to be a time for healing.
"I'm telling them as they're coming in, I'm telling them, 'Listen, here's what we need to do. You're allowed to have a little fun, even when things are going negative. This is just your time to get away from it. It's still there, we're going to go back to it, don't feel guilty,'" Gaffin said.
Tracy said her husband and son both face a long road to recovery, a road she'll share with them as best she can. She said she plans to take that road day by day.
"It's a battle," Tracy said. "We're going to get through it, by God's grace we will, we will."
Earlier this week, a GoFundMe account was set up to help the families of Jones, Marine Jr., and Irvin. To make a donation, visit https://www.gofundme.com/gaffin-employees-affected-by-teco-b.