Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 170696231 - Employee dies in grass fire while mowing along roadside
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
119680924 | 06/17/1993 | 4971 | 0 | Merced Irrigation District |
Abstract: On June 16, 1992, Employee #1 was operating an air conditioned tractor with side and rear flail mowers. He was engaged in weed control operations on a small narrow strip of land bordered by a canal and South Bear Creek Drive. Witnesses saw the employee standing behind the tractor at roadside. A small slowly moving grass fire was seen ahead of the tractor. The employee had removed his shirt and was described as flapping or waving the shirt or mopping his upper body with the shirt. The witnesses drove by a short time later and noticed that the fire was advancing toward the tractor. They did not see the body of Employee #1, which was found later, face down and severely burned. The grass was unburned under the body, indicating that the employee had collapsed of heat stroke before the fire passed over him.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 119680924 | Fatality | Heat Exhaustion | Groundskeepers and gardeners, except farm |