Fatality Log
Below is a list of confined space and trench related fatality reports.
Note:This list is not all inclusive and posts are based on preliminary information reported by various news outlets. Subsequent investigations may reveal additional findings or conflicting information.
-
Incident: Two Workers Buried in Trench Collapse
Read more: Incident: Two Workers Buried in Trench CollapseHere’s another reminder of how quickly a trench can turn deadly and how important it is to be prepared. Is your rescue team prepared for such an incident? When firefighters arrived at the scene of a construction trench collapse near Covington (Louisiana) back in May, they could see two pairs of feet sticking out of…
-
Incident: Alaska Calls for Increased Focus on Trench Safety
Read more: Incident: Alaska Calls for Increased Focus on Trench SafetyIn response to the death of a 23-year-old construction worker in a trenching incident in Anchorage, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development is highlighting the importance of training workers on safe trench work and excavations. State regulations require employers to ensure workers are trained to recognize and avoid hazards related to any trench…
-
Combustible Dust and Confined Spaces
Read more: Combustible Dust and Confined SpacesIn January 2004, an explosion at the West Pharmaceutical Company in Kingston, NC killed 6 workers and injured 34 others. Two firefighters were injured during the response to the incident. One month later, an explosion and fire occurred at the CTA Acoustics manufacturing facility in Corbin, KY, killing 7 workers. In February 2008, an explosion…
-
Ratqa Rescue Team’s Commendable Rescue Effort
Read more: Ratqa Rescue Team’s Commendable Rescue EffortSince 1999, Roco has had the opportunity to train and equip rescue teams in Kuwait. The first team that we trained was the Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC) Fire Officers that were assigned to three refineries located south of Kuwait City. In 2001, Ratqa Contracting was tasked with providing a Technical Rescue Team at the…
-
INVISIBLE HAZARD KILLS AGAIN
Read more: INVISIBLE HAZARD KILLS AGAINRoco Director of Training/Chief Instructor, Dennis O’Connell reviews the importance of following OSHA safety standards for confined space entry, no matter how many times workers have entered the space. The take away? With confined spaces…It’s NEVER old hat! The importance of preplanning confined space entries and identifying “potential hazards “should be old hat by now….
-
Confined Space Fatalities…a closer look at the numbers
Read more: Confined Space Fatalities…a closer look at the numbers(An updated review of more recent data is available at Confined space Fatalities…an updated look at the numbers) At some point during just about every Roco CSRT Rescue Stand-By job, someone will ask us why we are there. After we tell them that we’re there to make sure all the workers go home safely (and…
-
Confined Space Fatality Follow-up
Read more: Confined Space Fatality Follow-upHere’s a follow up to a Confined Space Fatality story we published earlier this year. One of the injured persons (a “would be” rescuer and co-worker of the initial victim) remains hospitalized since January. According to a Cal/OSHA Chief, “it is unfortunately common for other employees to be injured or killed while attempting impromptu rescue…
-
Manhole Rescue Effort Ends in 2 Deaths
Read more: Manhole Rescue Effort Ends in 2 DeathsAuthorities are investigating the suffocation of two North Carolina workers in a water system manhole—one of whom apparently died trying to rescue the other. The victims were employees of Triangle Grading and Paving Inc., a Burlington NC-based utility contractor that has been cited dozens of times for federal health and safety violations. In 1997, a…
-
Trench Collapse Fatality: Las Vegas, NM
Read more: Trench Collapse Fatality: Las Vegas, NMWhat does getting struck by a pickup traveling 45 mph and being in the path of a trench wall collapse have in common? The outcome is typically not going to be positive… A six cubic yard section of trench wall that collapses into an 8 foot deep trench has the weight and speed of a…
-
Toddler Killed in Arkansas Building Collapse
Read more: Toddler Killed in Arkansas Building CollapseAs a first responder, it’s your worst nightmare… pulling up to a scene of a building collapse with a woman trapped under a beam screaming out for her child who’s buried in the rubble. That’s what happened yesterday in a small town in Arkansas that’s located about 55 miles west of Little Rock. With an…
-
1 Dead, 2 Injured in Storage Tank Incident
Read more: 1 Dead, 2 Injured in Storage Tank IncidentA man died Friday (January 21) after being overcome by fumes while trying to help two co-workers who lost consciousness inside a tank they were cleaning at a pharmaceutical plant north of Atwater Village, authorities said. When Los Angeles firefighters arrived at the Baxter Healthcare Corp. about 4 a.m., one of the men had no…
-
Firefighter and Worker Die in Confined Space Incident
Read more: Firefighter and Worker Die in Confined Space IncidentTARRYTOWN, NY (WABC) — A fire department official says oxygen levels were dangerously low in a manhole where a sewer worker and a firefighter died. No cause of death has been established in Monday’s deaths of sewer worker Anthony Ruggiero and Tarrytown firefighter John Kelly. At firehouses throughout Tarrytown, there are the ceremonial displays that…