Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119712784 - Merril Brown

Inspection Information - Office: Fremont District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:00 a.m. on March 23, 1996, Employee #1 and two coworkers were engaged in a project that had been ongoing for five to six months on the roof of the Memorex Building. Their company had been subcontracted to remove marked metal pipes, ventilation equipment, and roofing materials down to the wood, and to perform general demolition. On the day of the accident, the foreman instructed the three workers to remove the orange marked ventilation equipment and pipes, to cover the openings with plywood, to tear off roofing materials, and to dispose of the debris. Employee #1 was removing debris from the middle section of the roof to the rear of the building, where a construction debris chute had been set up. Between 2 and 4 ft from the debris pile was an approximately 25 in. by 40 in. opening that was covered with an unsecured piece of plywood. Employee #1 fell 20 to 25 ft through this opening. He suffered massive head trauma and was transported to San Leandro Hospital, where he died on March 25, 1996. There were no witnesses to the accident. The crew did not have the means to secure the plywood over the holes. There were two other openings on the roof: one was covered with unsecured plywood and the other was not covered. The company did not have a written safety program or a written code of safe work practices. The structure was less than 36 ft in height, so a demolition permit was not required.

Keywords: ROOF OPENING COVER, HEAD, COVER, ROOF, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, ROOFER, FALL, ROOF OPENING