UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Abstract: At approximately 9:55 a.m. on June 18, 2013, Employee #1 was working as a service technician for a firm that maintained and repaired heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. He worked directly for the firm; that is, he was not a temporary worker. Employee #1 was assigned to perform regular maintenance on an HVAC unit on the top of the second story of the residence. He was working alone in the back yard of a private residence when the incident occurred. He was using two ladders to gain access to the HVAC unit. To get from the ground to a patio roof level, Employee #1 was using a 24-foot (7.3-meter) Werner Model Number D6224-2 fiberglass extension ladder. This was an extra heavy duty type IA ladder. The ladder Employee #1 fell from was a 13-foot (4.0-meter) Warner Model Number MT-13 aluminum multipurpose ladder, with Part Number 65224-10. This too was an extra heavy duty type IA ladder, and it was being used as a straight ladder at the time of the incident. The aluminum ladder was placed on the roof of the patio to provide access to the second-story roof. The patio's roof was made of tiles, and it was unstable and not level. Employee #1 was ascending the aluminum ladder. He had climbed to about the fourth or fifth rung of the ladder and was about eye level with the eave of the second floor. At that point, tile beneath the ladder broke, and Employee #1 fell along with the ladder. He fell approximately 15 feet (4.6 meters). He sustained a fractured left wrist and two fractured vertebrae. The accident was reported by the employer to the Bakersfield District office at 7:54 a.m. the following day.