105,313Records 71,083Employers 85,290Hospitalizations 27,770Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-10-31
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #759902

BURN,SPOT WELDING,DUCT,VENTILATION,FLAMMABLE VAPORS,WORK RULES,FIRE,CONSTRUCTION,SPARK,ELECTRIC LIGHT--PORT

Event
BURN,SPOT WELDING,DUCT,VENTILATION,FLAMMABLE VAPORS,WORK RULES,FIRE,CONSTRUCTION,SPARK,ELECTRIC LIGHT--PORT
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
759902
Report ID
453710

Event description

Employees die in HVAC duct fire

Investigation abstract

Employees #1 and #2 were applying insulation to the interior of an HVAC duct wit h a flammable adhesive. The duct did not have mechanical ventilation. Electrical flood-type lamps, electrical extension cords, and a receptacle outlet were in t he duct. This equipment was not approved for use in Class I locations. Within th e duct work at another location, an employee was spot welding pins in place. The flammable vapors ignited, resulting in a flash fire that burned Employees #1 an d #2 over approximately 90 percent of their bodies. They died.

Victims (2)

  1. #1 Fatality Age 44 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    14
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    593
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    10
    Hazardous substance
    1380
    Task assigned
    1
  2. #2 Fatality Age 36 M

    Nature of injury
    5
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    14
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    593
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    10
    Hazardous substance
    1380
    Task assigned
    1

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.