OSHA fines two companies nearly $120,000 for death of 3 workers in Key Largo

ConDig (19-Jul-17).  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a South Florida utility company and related contracting company nearly $120,000 following the death of three workers that entered into a manhole filled with lethal gases on a road project in the Florida Keys.

Agency investigators cited Douglas N. Higgins Inc and its related contracting company, McKenna Contracting LLC, with 10 serious violations after the three workers were killed by toxic gases in a manhole on January 16 this year.

The violations include failure to purge or ventilate the confined space before entry, exposing the workers to an asphyxiation hazard and not providing necessary rescue and emergency equipment for employees that were overcome inside a permit-required confined space, according to OSHA.

They also included failure to develop and implement a written hazard communication program,

use of a calibrated direct-reading device to test for toxic gases and creating a document for the confined space entry permit.

“The hazards of working in manholes are well established, but there are ways to make it safe,” said Condell Eastmond, the OSHA area director in Fort Lauderdale.

“Three employees needlessly lost their lives and others were injured due to their employer’s failure to follow safe work practices.”

The incident happened when a 34-year-old pipe layer entered the manhole and quickly became unresponsive. A 49-year-old laborer then entered the hole and attempted to rescue the first employee. But after the second employee also became unresponsive, a 24-year-old equipment operator followed to help his fallen coworkers. All three men died.

Founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, D.N. Higgins expanded in 1989 with the opening of its Naples, FL, office. The company specializes in underground installations of mechanical systems, pump stations, storm water drainage systems and municipal infrastructure, OSHA said.

McKenna Contracting LLC was formed in 2012 and is a related company that provides contract administration and labor to Higgins’ jobsites in Florida.