OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221396641

G & B FARM LABOR CONTRACTING LLC

OROVILLE, CA· 2021-09-17T00:00:00

Event: Agriculture, Agriculture Machinery/Vehicle, Burn, Container, Engineering Controls, Face, Farm, Farm Machinery, Farm worker, Fire, Flammable Liquid, Gas, Gas Can, Glove, Hand, Ignite, Ignition, Incorrect Equipment, Injury Illness Prevention Program, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lawn Mower, Maintenance, Malfunction, Mech Malfunction, Mechanic, Neck, PPE, Spark, Staffing Agency, Temporary, Temporary Employment Agency, Temporary Worker, Unsafe Position, Welding, Wrong Equipment
NAICS: 111339
Inspection type: Accident-driven
Activity number: #345552855
Employer profile: G & B FARM LABOR CONTRACTING LLC
Summary number: 221396641
Report ID: 0950623

Event description

Employee burns hand, neck, and face welding by gas filled bo

Investigation abstract

At 8:15 a.m. on September 17, 2021, an employee working as a mechanic for a farm began removing the engine oil from the shaker. As oil was draining, he gathered metal for the sawhorse. After cutting the metal he started welding the legs to the sawhorse. As he welded the legs, sparks were spraying onto the gas bottle. The employee was wearing a welding helmet but no gloves during welding. He did not know the gas bottle was sitting four feet away when he heard a noise like an explosion. He lifted his hood and saw the gas bottle on fire. He slapped the bottle away, pushing it off the table when gas spewed out the top and doused his left hand. The bottle fell to the ground landing next to the shaker. The employee thought the shaker tire caught fire, so he panicked and kicked the bottle outside the shop. Gas splashed his face and neck, and he used his labor contractor was mowing grass in an orchard. The mower quit so he took it to sweatshirt to put out the fire. The bottle was still burning so he used water to put it out. The employee called a coworker in the office who was also his daughter. She took him to the hospital, where his throat began to close. He was immediately transferred to a nearby burn center and hospitalized to treat first and second degree burns to his face, neck and hand. He was discharged from the burn center on October 1, 2021, and had to return every two weeks for evaluation and additional treatment. the shop. A coworker began diagnosing the mower taking the gas line off to clear any clogs or debris. The coworker filled a small water bottle with gas and began cleaning the gas line. The coworker then placed the bottle on the table. The employer's almond shaker head had been damaged during almond harvest. The shaker was in the maintenance shop with the head sitting on a wooden box. The coworker worried the box would not hold the weight of the head, so he told the employee to build a metal sawhorse and change the engine oil in the shaker. The employee

Victim

#1 Hospitalized Age 44 M

Event type
14

Occupation code
517

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.