Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302396965 - Masonry Construction, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Jackson Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:40 p.m. on July 20, 2000, Employee #1 and a coworker were part of a crew working from scaffolding set up on a balcony. They were laying brick on top of an approximately 10 ft tall brick wall that had been completed the day before. The top 3 ft of the wall extended above the roof deck as part of the parapet wall. The top three courses of the standard eight-inch bricks were standing on end, soldiers with no support other than the mortar holding them together. Approximately two-thirds of the 100 ft length of the parapet wall had been completed, and the scaffold was moved to finish the job. The weather had been sunny with temperatures in the nineties when strong winds preceding a cold front and approaching thunderstorms moved into the area and created a dust storm that made it difficult to see. The foreman, who was watching and directing the work from the atrium area below the balcony, instructed the crew to get inside the building. Employee #1 was blown over the balcony and, as he clung to the wire rope guardrail, the weld for the stanchion broke. He fell approximately 8 ft to the concrete floor of the atrium, sustaining minor injuries. The brick from the unsupported parapet wall then started to peel off and fall onto the balcony and the atrium floor. Employee #1 was the last crew member on the walkway. Before he entered the doorway to safety, he bent down to retrieve one of his tools. As he did so, some loose bricks and a large section of the partially cured wall collapsed and struck him on the back. Employee #1 was killed.

Keywords: STORM, HIGH WIND, COLLAPSE, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, BACK, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, SCAFFOLDING