OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14336283
SOUTHWIRE - CDS
CARROLLTON, GA·
Event description
Employees burned during flash fire
Investigation abstract
Employees #1 and #2, maintenance workers, were cleaning a Y-strainer on a natura l gas line for furnaces in a secondary copper smelter. The main natural gas line valve was closed. The furnaces have a back-up system that uses propane. The pro pane valve closest to Employees #1 and #2 was open. Another employee opened the main propane valve to switch the system over from natural gas to propane. The pr opane gas then seeped back through the open valve into the area in which the emp loyees were working. It ignited, causing a flash fire. Employee #1 was seriously burned; Employee #2 was also burned, but not as severely as Employee #1. None o f the valves was locked out or tagged out.
Victims (2)
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 51 Male
- Nature of injury
- Burn/Scald(Heat) (5)
- Part of body
- MULTIPLE (19)
- Accident type
- OTHER (14)
- Source of injury
- FIRE/SMOKE (16)
- Occupation
- Occupation not reported (999)
- Human factor
- LOCKOUT/TAGOUT PROCED MALFUNC (13)
- Environmental factor
- GAS/VAPOR/MIST/FUME/SMOKE/DUST (7)
- Hazardous substance
- 2150
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 41 Male
- Nature of injury
- Burn/Scald(Heat) (5)
- Part of body
- FACE (9)
- Accident type
- OTHER (14)
- Source of injury
- FIRE/SMOKE (16)
- Occupation
- Occupation not reported (999)
- Human factor
- LOCKOUT/TAGOUT PROCED MALFUNC (13)
- Environmental factor
- GAS/VAPOR/MIST/FUME/SMOKE/DUST (7)
- Hazardous substance
- 2150
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.