Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304412380 - Larry L Campbell

Inspection Information - Office: Utah Division Of Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

On September 21, 2001, Employee #1 and Employee #2 were to paint a second story apartment in an apartment building. The two employees had completed the preparatory work and had begun spraying the apartment with Kilz brand primer. That primer is flammable and oil based. As spraying of the primer continued, a flammable atmosphere was created in the apartment. At approximately 3:45 pm a fire occurred in the apartment. The building owner reported that the men had been operating the paint sprayer for less than 15 minutes when the fire occurred. Employee #1 was spraying the primer in the kitchen at the time of the fire. Employee #2 was in another room when the fire occurred. When the fire started, both employees exited the building through the second story in the living room. Employee #1 and Employee #2 received burns to multiple locations on their bodies and were hospitalized to the burn unit as a result for several weeks. One employee also received injuries from jumping from the second story window to the ground. The window was located at a height of 12 to 15 feet off the ground. It appears that the cause of the fire was poor ventilation which allowed the flammable atmosphere to be created during the spraying operation. Ignition sources were not isolated from the spraying area. Both employees had little to no training on the hazards associated with the materials with which they were working.

Keywords: BURN, FLAMMABLE VAPORS, FIRE, PAINTER