Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire · Thermal burns degree unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Heritage Heating & Air, LLC, 331 E River Rd, FIRTH, IDAHO 83236
on — Thermal burns degree unspecified, affecting the Multiple body parts n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was helping install new HVAC equipment and testing a natural gas line. When they turned on the gas line, there was an explosion. The employee sustained burns to their face, neck, arms, and hands.
Hospitalized Multiple body parts n.e.c. Pressurized containers n.e.c.
An employee was conducting torching operations using oxygen and propane to cut metal beams within the recycling laydown area. The employee used a hose with an air chuck connection to fill up the yard pickup truck's back tire with oxygen. The tire blew up which caused the oxygen to ignite. The employee sustained fractures, internal injuries, burns, and lacerations.
An employee was replacing a tire on a wheelbarrow when the tire exploded. The employee sustained fractures to his right hand and an abrasion to the right side of his face. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery on his right hand.
An employee was checking the pressure gauge on a unit from a step stool. As he was stepping down, the ball valve ruptured and grazed the side of his left hand. The employee was hospitalized with an injury to the hand near the thumb and required surgery.
A mechanic was changing out an air spring on a concrete mixer truck cab. The air spring was receiving higher air pressure than it was designed to use, because of a faulty level check valve. This increased pressure caused the air spring to burst. Its top portion separated and struck the employee's left forearm, causing a laceration and fracture. The employee was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was hydro testing and pressurizing a pipe when it blew. The lid struck the employee, causing a gash to his elbow and injury to his abdominal area that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 238220)
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.
An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.
While working at a customer's residence, an employee was cutting tape with a box cutter to wrap insulation for a piece of pipe. The box cutter struck a hardened object within the wall causing it to bounce back and puncture the employee's right eye. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was assembling a baker type scaffold. He was beginning to transverse down the scaffold, approximately six feet off the ground, when the scaffold tipped over and he fell. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured femur.
An employee was trimming out sprinklers on the exterior of a building when he fell off an extension ladder. He landed on the ground and sustained fractures to his nose and arm.
An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.