Abstract: At 3:15 p.m. on August 25, 2015, an employee, blasting technician, was performing a job safety analysis, preparing blast reports, preparing explosives materials for blasting and initiating blasting operations. The employee had a Level III Blasting Certification from the State of Georgia (signed by the Commissioner). The Level III Blasting Certification denotes that the blaster has three years of experience in the specific field of blasting they are licensed or approved to perform. The employee was up to date on his training. The employee was scheduled to perform a single detonation to remove below the surface rock for site clearing activities. The employee was the Blaster in Charge and a coworker was the Driller/Helper. According to the blast records, the accident occurred on the 19th blast attempt. Work for this blast event had commenced a day prior to the accident, and consisted of planning the blast, marking and drilling blast-holes. According to the pre-blast plan and drill log, a total of 41 blast-holes were drilled. The employee had completed 32 holes on the day prior to the accident, and on the day of the accident, he completed the remaining blast-holes. According to a coworker, on the day of the accident, work commenced at approximately 0700 hrs. The employee arrived at the site at approximately 0900 hrs, and began loading the explosives into the holes for the blast. The coworker assisted employee when he completed drilling the remaining blast-holes. After all the blast-holes were loaded and connections were made, the stemming was applied. The crew then took a lunch break and waited for the site prep contractor to cover the holes. The site prep contractor applied approximately seven feet of ground cover on top of the blast holes in lieu of blast mats for this event. At approximately 1345 the crew cleared the blast area of all non-essential personnel. The employee positioned himself at the northwest end on the blast area, approximately 81 feet from the blast, and the coworker was approximately 100 feet to the southeast. The employee initiated a warning sound and then gave the blast signal, and the coworker fired the blast. After the blast, the coworker determined that the shot did not detonate all the blast-holes. The employee discovered that a wire had been broken and there were nine holes that did not fire. He and the coworker repaired the wires and reconnected two additional surfaces delays. They then had the grading contractor add more cover to the blast area. At approximately 1507 hrs, the warning signal was sounded, and a verbal fire in the hole was given, and the coworker initiated the second blast. According to coworker, he observed the back side of the shot, shoot out towards the employee, and the employee turned, and ran down the hill towards street. He and the Site Superintendent then went towards the employee, who was positioned on the retaining wall near the sidewalk. The coworker, who is a trained EMT with the Fire Department, began assessing the employees injuries; noting that employee was unconscious and not breathing. He also noted that the employee had a small laceration near his neck. The employee was treated by other responders, and transported to the hospital, where he later died.