UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on May 3, 1993, eight employees from Sonny's Roofing Company were removing the roof decking from an 81,600 square ft warehouse that had been damaged by a tornado. Four employees were working approximately 10 to 15 ft from an area that had been identified on the preparatory survey as a hazardous area. Suddenly a 42 ft by 30 ft section of roof gave way and two employees slid down on a piece of sheet metal decking that had been being used as a work platform. Employee #1 came down 24 ft head-first onto the concrete floor and died instantly. Employee #2 fell the same distance and suffered a broken right ankle. The two employees were working too close to the hazardous area; an adequate working platform was not used; and fall protection was not used. The structure may have been further weakened by a thunderstorm that had come through the previous weekend with winds gusting to 65 mph. No survey had been conducted after the storm.