Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302098041 - Pate & Pate Enterprises, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Corpus Christi Area Office

Inspection Nr: 302098041

Report ID: 0626000

Date Opened: 07/15/1998

Site Address:
Pate & Pate Enterprises, Inc.
Twelve (12) Miles East On Fm 616
Placedo, TX 77977

Mailing Address:
1423 Brazos Drive, Suite "D", Huntsville, TX 77340

Union Status: NonUnion

SIC:1623

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: Y

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 07/16/1998

Planning Guide: Safety-Construction

Emphasis: N:Trench

Case Closed: 09/08/1999

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	100210418

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 200210532

Event: 07/14/1998

Employee killed when natural gas line ruptures and ignites

Employee #1 was operating a Caterpillar motor grader, model 140-G, to rework the road surface after some water line work. The vehicle's blade struck an 8 in. natural gas pipeline, which was situated just 2 3/4 in. below the ground surface. The released stream of gas ignited immediately. Employee #1 was stepping out onto the grader blade to escape the vehicle when he stumbled and fell into the large deflected fire. He was immediately engulfed in flames and was killed. Subsequent investigation showed that the employer had consulted the pipeline owner/operator prior to grading, and that the gas pipeline normally ran at a depth of 4 ft. However, the pipeline had sloped upward to the shallow depth and had veered off at this section from its mapped path.

Keywords: BURN, EQUIPMENT OPERATOR, FIRE, STRUCK AGAINST, CONSTRUCTION, NATURAL GAS, ROAD GRADER, RUPTURE, EXPLOSION, PIPELINE

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	302098041			Fatality	Burn/Scald(Heat)	Grader, dozer and scraper operators

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.