Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1510644.015 - Council Bluffs, City Of

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

At 7:30 p.m. on February 13, 2021, an employee was working with a road crew attempting to reheat a mobile asphalt recycler after removing stuck asphalt from the interior drum and fin walls. The machine was parked by a milling pile and was being cleaned out by the crew after an undetermined amount of asphalt had hardened inside the drum. Eight bolts that had been sheared off the drum were repaired by a coworker (the city maintenance mechanic). The crew was trying to clean out the drum which was out of balance due to the excess asphalt stuck to the inside of the drum. The crew noticed the drum still making a thud sound indicating it was still out of balance, so they attempted to remove additional hardened asphalt. The crew was using pry bars and hammers to vibrate the drum to remove the excess material from inside. They decided they needed to reheat the drum. After they made several attempts to light the diesel fired burner on the recycler, they made one final attempt. A large flash fire occurred shooting flames out of the back of the recycler drum toward the crew standing nearby. The employee was standing at the machine controls and was in the path of the fire. The crew used two fire extinguishers trying put out the fire while waiting for the fire department to arrive. After extinguishing the fire, his coworkers realized the employee needed to be transported to the hospital. The employee was transported to the local hospital and then taken to a burn center. The employee was hospitalized to treat burns to his left hand, entire head and face.

Keywords: Asphalt, Burn, Burner, Cleaning, Construction, Construction vehicle, Drum, Face, Fire, Fire Brigade/Department, Fire Extinguisher, Hand, Head, High Temperature, Hot Asphalt, Lighting, Open Flame, Road, Road Grader, Road Paving, Struck By