Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301476966 - Suny Univ At Albany Physical Plant Dept

Inspection Information - Office: Nys Dol Pesh Albany

Investigation Summary

On August 27, 2001, a journeyman roofer was cleaning the gutters along the eaves of a two-story student residence hall when he fell approximately 18 feet to the ground. This operation is normally done three times a year by two employees. Normally, the roofer would have worked from a ladder, flushing out the gutters with a garden hose that was connected to a ground-level spigot. The roofer's helper would have held the bottom of the ladder. On the day of the accident, the roofer worked by himself and accessed the roof from an aluminum extension ladder. While working along the front edge of the roof the roofer fell, striking his head on the asphalt walkway at the front entrance to the building. The ladder was still in place at the rear of the building at that time. The employee was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The employee was not wearing any type of fall protection. Other roofers had received fall protection training from the employer, but this employee had not.

Keywords: EXTENSION LADDER, ROOF, BUILDING, CLEANING, LADDER, HOSE, ROOFER, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, UNTRAINED