OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221530769
AUSTIN INDUSTRIAL INC
BORGER, TX—
Event description
Two employees are burned in fire, one dies in surgery
Investigation abstract
At 8:00 a.m. on January 17, 2023, Employee #1, a crane operator, and Employee was inside the cab of the crane when the flames engulfed the cab but remained at his post instead of escaping due to the fact that he had lifted men in a man basket. The employees in the man basket had escaped using a Jeronimo line immediately after the gas ignition. Employee #1 suffered burns on his hands and chest but was talkative and given a good prognosis by his doctors. Employee #1 was undergoing surgery to place skin grafts on his hands when he died. Employee #2 suffered third degree burns and was moved from intensive care to burn rehabilitation. #2, a rigger were lifting two subcontractors in a man basket using a crane while other subcontractors were were tightening 8 locking pin assemblies on the wellhead using a pneumatic impact wrench. One of the subcontractors working on the wellhead inadvertently loosened a locking pin instead of tightening it. When the locking pin came out of the hole, it allowed natural gas liquid to be released and douse the employees working at the locking pins. The natural gas liquid found an ignition source and ignited. A pressurized stream of flame contacted the crane which was positioned directly in the flow path. Employee #1
Victims (2)
-
#1 Fatality Age 42 M
- Event type
- 14
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 0 M
- Event type
- 14
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