20 Incidents & 1 Update (5/13/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FATAL FALL thru OPEN HOLD Worker killed at Port Nelson (a worker, 33, has died in an accident at a port at about 10.20am after the man fell from the deck where he was working through an open hold – police and colleagues of the man performed CPR for about 40 minutes but the man died at the scene)

UPDATE – now a LOTO FATALITY Maintenance worker killed by gate (a construction worker was crushed and killed last week while undertaking maintenance at a mill – a preliminary investigation revealed that welding maintenance work was scheduled to be performed on two planer mill conveyor belts (dunnage conveyor and strip conveyor) which operate side by side – as required for safety, all power sources were locked out or shut off, before the work was started; however, a diverter gate that functions to separate the dunnage and the strip to their respective conveyor paths, was not properly secured – the gate was secured hydraulically, but it was not additionally secured with a chain or come along to ensure it does not move – preliminary interviews with co-workers have established that the additional securing measure had been in place for past maintenance operations – at this stage of the investigation it appears that an unsecured gate fell over and the worker was crushed between the gate and the conveyor wall – the worker had filled out a hot-work permit at 3:30 a.m., but failed to show up for a scheduled lunch break at 4 a.m. – upon discovering him, co-workers lifted the gate and called on-site first aid attendants to the scene, but he was already dead)

FLAMMABLE LIQUID TANK EXPLODES/LAUNCHES Explosion brings firefighters, Haz-Mat teams to factory (an 8,000-gallon container outside the building exploded, launching it up and through the factory roof – foam material used inside hot tubs somehow exploded around 10:30 p.m. – firefighters found no fire but spotted smoke coming from a container that, although normally stored outside of the building, had rocketed up and crash-landed through the roof onto the factory floor)

HOTWORK Aiken County Fire May Have Started from Welding (a business experienced a roof fire – the roof burned approximately 10 foot wide by 15 foot long – the cause is not official, but it appeared to be from welding performed on the roof within the past few days – Plant Engineers are trying to figure out if someone welded on the beam or arced, causing the fire)

HOTWORK Fire hits construction safety products factory (eighty firefighters were needed to tackle a blaze at a factory which makes safety products for the construction industry – twelve workers were on site at the time and one was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation after being rescued by a colleague – a spark during welding work is believed to have caused the blaze – the fire developed very quickly and one man got trapped and he was rescued by a colleague who managed to force his way into that part of the building)

HOTWORK Fire strikes scrapped mill (workers using a cutting torch on the plant’s third floor sent sparks down into the second floor where the fire started – “They had hot work procedures in place but we think a spark came down into what they call a chest area under some kind of machine. It fell into this pit. This pit had a cover over it where some oil had dripped down. We think (the spark) got into that hydraulic oil and started a fire inside that pit area.”)

REFINERY FIRE Shell Reports Fire, Unplanned Unit Outage At Motiva Port Arthur Refinery (the R2 heater outlet check-valve caught fire which resulted in the shutdown of a lube hydrocracking unit at around 7:45 a.m. – unit was Shut down and depressured to the flare system per Emergency shutdown procedures – plant emergency response team responded and extinguished the fire)

REFINERY FIRE Oil Refinery Near St. Petersburg Briefly Catches Fire (an oil refinery briefly caught fire at about 8:20 pm – it broke out in the middle of an operating petroleum refining facility some 15-20 meters above the ground – the flame was put out at 10:40 pm – no injuries were reported)

EXPLOSION Amager explosion injures three (one of the three people injured in a blast at a power station remains hospitalised with severe burns – the other two accidents victims have been released – the accident happened while power plant employees were mounting a sensor to measure the amount of wood pellets left in a silo – a clump of pellets were stuck in the silo, and an independent company that uses a procedure involving a control explosion was brought in  to loosen the pellets – the explosion created a fire in the silo and three of the private firm’s workers were injured)

CONSTRUCTION

WORKZONE Accident Narrowly Misses Worker/Injures Woman (a worker placing road signs was nearly hit when a woman crashed into the rear of his truck – driver failed to see a Chevy truck – the operator of the truck, 30, was standing at the rear driver side of the truck and managed to jump out of the way in time – the vehicle hit the truck, spun clockwise and came to rest facing backward in the westbound lane – the truck was pushed off into the field – worker was transported to a Hospital with unknown injuries – accident happened around 6:30 a.m.)

PFAS SAVES ANOTHER LIFE!!!! WORZONE – BUCKET TRUCK Worker knocked off lift truck (a road crew worker, 44, narrowly avoided serious injury when his vehicle was struck by a truck and he was left hanging from the bucket of a lift truck – he was putting reflective tape on a traffic light at an intersection at about 9:30 a.m. when the accident occurred – as he was working in the lift truck, a tractor-trailer struck the bucket – the impact ejected the worker from the bucket – a safety harness prevented him from falling, although he was held suspended until he could be rescued – he was taken to a Hospital for treatment – he reported neck and back pain, but his injuries were likely minor – tractor trailer was undamaged, while the lift truck had minor damage to its bucket)

TRENCH FATALITY Worker buried in 8-foot trench dies (a worker buried in an 8-foot trench has died – the male worker was “completely entombed” in the soil with as much as three feet of soil above him – more than 70 firefighters worked to free the man, but the rescue operation was officially declared a recovery operation shortly before 4:30 p.m. – it’s unclear what the trench was for or what work the man was doing)

CRANE JIB Worker injured by crane on the job (a worker was seriously injured after part of a truck-mounted crane known as the jib fell off and struck the worker’s head – the worker’s condition is unknown)

HOTWORK in TUNNEL PROJECT Accident in tunnel sends three men to hospital (an accident in a water diversion tunnel sent three men to hospital with non-life threatening injuries – one man received burns to his leg, another injured his shoulder, and another man is being treated for shock – the workers were injured when they hit a natural gas pocket while welding through the tunnel lining, causing an explosion – extent of the injuries is unknown)

HOTWORK Fire guts Job 600 (fire gutted the sixth floor of the building – the timely intervention of fire personnel saved what could have a further set-back plans to bring the historical edifice back to life – extent of damage is minimal – sparks of fire from a welding machine burnt a tools box, causing a near explosion)

MISCELLANEOUS

HIGH PRESSURE WATER FATALITY Freak accident kills Yorktown plumbing contractor (a freak accident has killed a plumbing contractor, 55, after a high pressure stream of water apparently sliced his neck, causing heavy bleeding – he was clearing a blocked line with a high-pressure water hose at the time – County EMS Director believes the water caused the wound – a school maintenance worker with him at the time wasn’t injured and administered first aid until emergency responders arrived)

POWERED INDUSTRIAL TRUCK Worker Injured in Portland Golf Course Accident (a maintenance worker at a Golf Course is in critical condition after becoming trapped under an overturned powered industrial truck that was being used to spray crabgrass control chemicals – he was treated at the scene by fire personnel – the worker sustained serious injuries and was first taken to one Hospital before being transferred to another Hospital where he is listed in critical condition)

FLASH FIRE Sixteen injured in Williams garage fire at Spanish Grand Prix (a fire broke out shortly after the race – sixteen F1 personnel required medical attention, including one person who was hospitalized, after the fire engulfed the  garage and brought to an abrupt end their victory celebrations – it is believed the team had been taking celebratory photos when a fuel rig being used to drain a car leaked and a flash fire erupted – four members of the team have been treated as a precaution, together with staff who fought the blaze before emergency services arrived on the scene)