Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at J. Franco Reforestation Inc, 180 Pagosa Street, PAGOSA SPRINGS, COLORADO 81147
on — Heat stroke, syncope, affecting the BODY SYSTEMS .
Final narrative
An employee was fighting a fire in the mountains of Colorado for approximately six hours. At the end of the shift, he was hiking back to the crew vehicles and experienced two seizures and fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized. Dehydration from heat of the fire and altitude sickness may have contributed to the seizures.
An employee was conducting fire suppression operations on a wildfire. He pulled a hose from the engine. He then charged the hose and began to put on his gloves. A flareup occurred and the employee sustained burns to his face and hands.
An employee working as a contracted firefighter was using a bulldozer to push back an active fire line when they became entrapped in flames, resulting in first- and second-degree burns.
A firefighter was extinguishing burning material during wildfire operations when a log (20' long and 15"-20" diameter) uphill from them became dislodged and rolled down the slope. The log struck the employee who was hospitalized with a skull fracture and bruised ribs.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 115310)
An employee was loading the back of his truck with buckets of oil. As he was coming down off the truck, he slipped on a surface that was wet due to rain and fell about 3.5 feet to the ground, landing on his left elbow/arm. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left humerus and required surgery.
On September 25, 2025, an employee climbed an aluminum extension ladder and was on top of the roof of a building She was walking around on the roof, inspecting and evaluating it. She was descending the ladder when the ladder slid to the right and twisted around as she hung onto it. She then fell 10-12 feet to the paved parking lot and the ladder landed on top of her. She sustained a fractured left collarbone, multiple other fractures, and had bruising to the left side of her abdomen.
An employee was riding a horse and leading several pack mules along a trail. A few mules started acting up, causing the horse to stir. The employee then fell off the horse and landed on a stiff woody protrusion that impacted her chest/rib area. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured rib and a punctured lung.
An employee was working on a tree thinning unit and was cutting a 6" diameter tree. During the back-cut when the chainsaw kicked back. The saw struck her, resulting in a 3-inch laceration on her left leg below the knee. She was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was delivering materials. He was doing his pre-delivery inspection on the roof of the jobsite (a warehouse) when he fell through a plexiglass skylight. He landed on his feet on the concrete floor 14 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his spine, left ulnar/radius, and right heel. The employee required surgery.
An employee was removing packaging from a roll of printing substrate. The blade of their utility knife got stuck. The employee used both hands to free the knife and the blade partially amputated their left little fingertip.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.