Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125662650 - Home Depot Corporation Store # 0636

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:00 a.m. on December 21, 1995, Employee #1, of Home Depot, in Roseville, CA, was working at the Christmas tree lot in the parking lot in front of the store. On this cold morning, workers were using a small propane heater to keep warm. Employee #1 had been standing in front of the heater one to two minutes when his sweatshirt caught fire in the back. First aid was applied by the local fire department before it transported him by ambulance to Kaiser North Hospital in Sacramento. Employee #1 was treated for first- and second-degree burns on his back, which were later upgraded to third-degree because skin grafts were needed over a large area. An examination of the heater showed that it was not hot enough to start a fire like this unless the shirttail of his sweatshirt had touched the heater element, or a tree needle had landed on the element, causing a short spark and flame.

Keywords: BURN, CLOTHING, HEATER, FIRE, BACK, PROPANE