Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 201520723 - Two employees burned in propane fire

Accident Summary Nr: 201520723 -- Report ID: 0111500 -- Event Date: 01/28/2000
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
123303851	01/28/2000	1542	0	Manafort Brothers Incorporated

Abstract: Employees #1 and #2, laborers on an excavation site sustained burns when leaking liquid propane (LP) ignited. The excavation was 15-ft-wide, 30-ft-long, and 5.5-6.8-ft-deep. The walls were nearly vertical. A tent was build over the site. At around 8:00 a.m. a heater connected to 100-lb LP cylinder was started in the excavation so that the footings could be installed later. Due to the extremely cold day a second heater was placed in the excavation along with another LP cylinder. One of the coworkers tried to unscrew the valve cup on the cylinder, but it turned only about 0.25 in. It created a leak of LP that could not be stopped; therefore it was decided to remove the cylinder. It was carried in horizontal position and that created a more intense leak. A coworker, a foreman, turned the first heater and cylinder off, but within five seconds the fumes ignited inside the excavation. Employees #1 and #2 got disoriented and did not leave in time. Employee #1 sustained burns to his right hand, and Employee #2 sustained burns to his face. They were hospitalized.

Keywords: BURN, FOOTINGS, EXCAVATION, CYLINDER, HEATER, CONSTRUCTION, PROPANE, FACE, HAND, CHEMICAL

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Commercial building		Alteration or rehabilitation		$1,000,000 to $5,000,000

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	123303851			Hospitalized injury	Burn/Scald(Heat)	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Emplacing reinforcing steel Fatality Cause: Fire/explosion
2	123303851			Hospitalized injury	Burn/Scald(Heat)	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Emplacing reinforcing steel Fatality Cause: Fire/explosion

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.