Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025
105,313Records 71,083Employers 85,290Hospitalizations 27,770Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-10-31

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221490188

PFUND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC.

Event
Asphyxiated, Atmosphere, Confined Space, Excavation, Excavator, Lack of oxygen, Lost consciousness, Manhole, Oxygen, Oxygen Deficiency, Toxic Atmosphere, Trench, Trench Digger
NAICS
238190
Inspection type
Federal Agency
Activity number
#346163181
Employer profile
PFUND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC.
Summary number
221490188
Report ID
0524530
Project type
A
Construction end-use
G

Event description

Two employees are killed in hazardous atmosphere

Investigation abstract

At 6:15 p.m. on August 19, 2022, two employees were digging a trench with a JCB sewer line. The employer did not have a means of testing the atmosphere in the manhole section, and the employees were not trained on OSHA requirements for working around and entry into confined spaces. Both employees died of asphyxiation. 245XR Excavator for a storm sewer line that was located in the center of a new multi-residential housing complex that was under construction. The trench was approximately 29 feet long by 16 feet wide and 7 feet 6 inches deep. Both employees entered into a manhole section of an existing sanitation sewer line that was located approximately 6 feet from the trench. Both employees lost consciousness in the manhole section. The EHS service that attempted to conduct the rescue of the employees noted that the oxygen levels were at 12.1%. The employer had completed this sanitation sewer line prior to working on the storm

Victims (2)

  1. #1 Fatality Age 19 M

    Event type
    8
    Occupation code
    869
  2. #2 Fatality Age 19 M

    Event type
    8
    Occupation code
    869

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.