Small-scale (limited) fire · Second degree heat (thermal) burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Halme, Inc., 45335 Highway 28, LAKE NORDEN, SOUTH DAKOTA 57248
on — Second degree heat (thermal) burns, affecting the hand(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
Employees were burning yard debris (brush/shrubbery) in an open pit. Fumes from gasoline (used as an accelerant) ignited and exploded. One employee suffered first-degree burns to the face and second-degree burns to his hands. Another suffered second-degree burns to his face and third-degree burns to the hands.
An employee was using an overhead crane to move a trench compaction pinwheel in the maintenance shop. The employee was stabilizing the pinwheel with their left hand as it was moving. Their left little finger was pinched between the pinwheel and a trench box, resulting in amputation of the fingertip and fingernail.
An employee was standing on a bag of bentonite clay composite when it ignited and the employee's pants leg caught on fire. The employee then went to remove a gasoline can from a dual-axle trailer and sustained burns to his arms, right hand, and the right side of his abdomen.
Two employees were working on an empty above-ground 2,500-barrel crude oil tank. Employee 1 was welding while employee 2 was watching. Employee 1 saw fire behind the welding smoke and notified employee 2. Before they could get off the tank, they both fell in the tank and sustained burns from the fire.
An employee was pressing pyrotechnic composition into pellets using a pressure tablet press. Upon pouring the composition into the small hopper, the composition ignited and produced a flash fire. The employee sustained bilateral burns to the hands and face.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 237110)
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
On October 7, 2025, employees were conducting trenching operations for the installation of a new sewer line system. The excavator's bucket was detached and put inside the trench as it was being exchanged for a different-sized bucket. An employee entered the trench with a shovel to move some dirt located at the front end of the pipe. The excavator bucket shifted and slid, striking the employee s right foot and trapping it against the ground. The employee sustained a fractured right tibia.
Employees were working to dislodge a large truck that was stuck in a rut using tow straps and a front-end loader with the bucket removed. An employee connected the straps to the loader and truck and another employee slowly engaged the loader to close the coupler. The injured employee's arm became caught in a pinch point. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured arm.
An employee was lifting a piece of 30-inch line stopping equipment using a jack screw. A lifting eye weld snapped and the load dropped. The end of the jack screw then landed on the employee's heel and crushed it. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.