Navy Region Southwest Port Operations

Two employees were transferring gasoline to a boat when the vapor caught on fire. Employee 1 was hospitalized with burns to the face and body. Employee 2 sustained eye and skin injuries but was not hospitalized.

Five workers of two employers (Wastewater Specialties, LLC and Westlake Chemical Lake Charles South) were hospitalized when a flash fire in a vessel occurred. Two employees were on an elevated platform welding a flange onto a 54-inch segment of process piping at the quench tower. Three other workers were engaged in a hydro blasting operation. Employee 1 suffered head trauma, lacerations, and burns. Employee 2 suffered a lower leg/ankle injury. The other workers sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns to face and torso, and fractures to their arms and legs.

An employee was performing maintenance and repair work on a boat. When the boat was started up, it caught fire and exploded. The employee suffered second-degree burns to the face, hands, and legs.

While prepping a push-boat to move to another location, employees filled both motors with 2-stroke oil and put the cowlings back on the motors. An employee went to start the motors. The port motor started but the starboard motor hesitated. The employee tried again; the starboard motor started up but fire shot out and fuel that leaked caught fire. One employee was hit by the flames, and sustained burns on the neck, left hand, and both legs.

On June 22, 2020, at 10:50 AM, an employee was installing a fuel sender in a 31-foot boat's fuel tank. As he connected the fuel sender wires, a spark was created and ignited the fuel vapors. The vapors exploded and then caught on fire, burning the employee. He jumped down from the boat and other employees ran over to put out the fire. He was hospitalized with third degree burns on his hands and a concussion.

An employee was activating the sprinkler system at a sports complex following recent maintenance to repair leaky pumps. When the system was activated, a section of newly installed 3-inch schedule 80 PVC pipe struck the employee, who lost consciousness. The employee suffered a broken jaw and a concussion.

An employee was ascending a flight of stairs after exiting their vehicle in an adjacent employee parking lot. The employee stepped to the right to avoid another employee on the left who was descending the stairs. The employee lost their balance and fell on the stairs. They were hospitalized with a laceration/abrasion to their chin, a fractured left humerus, and bruising to their left knee.

An employee was working on an electrical panel in a mechanical room when an arc flash occurred. The employee suffered burns.

At about 3:10 p.m. on October 3, 2025, an employee was inspecting a car. Two dogs that had been in another car were leashed and tethered to a bollard. As the employee inspected the first car along with a narcotics detection dog, one of the other dogs came loose and attacked the narcotics dog. The employee was separating the dogs when the other dog bit his left ring finger. The last joint of the finger was injured and part of it was bitten off.

An employee was climbing a fixed ladder to perform maintenance in an attic. While unlocking the attic entry, the employee fell from the ladder more than 10 feet to the concrete below. The employee suffered a fractured hip, pelvis, tail bone, arm, and elbow, resulting in hospitalization and surgery.

The injured employee was assisting a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enforcement operation. During an apprehension, officers returned fire at a subject and struck the employee with a bullet. The employee sustained a gunshot wound to their right hand.

The injured employee was assisting in the disassembly phase after a radar array had been lowered and secured. The crew began removing load bearing pins from an overhead crane to free the radome. A load bearing pin was stuck. The injured employee went to remove the pin manually as a second team member applied pressure from the opposite side. The pin unexpectedly released and struck the injured employee s right thumb, resulting in partial amputation of the distal phalanx including an open distal phalanx fracture and nail bed laceration.

An employee was working on an electrical panel in a mechanical room when an arc flash occurred. The employee suffered burns.

At about 3:10 p.m. on October 3, 2025, an employee was inspecting a car. Two dogs that had been in another car were leashed and tethered to a bollard. As the employee inspected the first car along with a narcotics detection dog, one of the other dogs came loose and attacked the narcotics dog. The employee was separating the dogs when the other dog bit his left ring finger. The last joint of the finger was injured and part of it was bitten off.

An employee was preparing a bundle of green onions for chopping. While holding the bundle in his left hand, he made his first cut using a 9-inch kitchen knife held in his right hand. The knife contacted the tip of his left thumb, resulting in an amputation of approximately 0.5 inches of the thumb that required hospitalization.