Koch Foods Fined $167M after Worker Death

fire exit

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined poultry producer Koch Foods $167,000 following an investigation into a Feb, 15 fire at its Fairfield, Ohio processing facility that killed 25-year-old Griffin Darrow and hospitalized two other workers.
Investigators found Koch Foods failed to inform employees or supervisors about emergency evacuation routes or protocols, and Darrow was exposed to flames and died of smoke inhalation after failing to evacuate the building.
OSHA also cited the company for failing to establish proper machine shutdown procedures during maintenance and for having unmarked electrical equipment, violations investigators said put workers at risk and may have contributed to the fire.
Koch Foods settled with OSHA on Aug. 18, agreeing to correct the violations by mid-October; as part of the settlement, OSHA reduced the initial proposed $267,000 fine by $100,000 to the final $167,000.

A man in his 30s was killed and another worker was rescued after a house under construction fully collapsed in Austin, Texas, Thursday afternoon due to high winds, with officials saying two of the four construction workers inside managed to escape while the other two were trapped.
Emergency crews arrived about five minutes after a 911 call around 4:20 p.m., found one trapped worker conscious and pinned beneath the framework and the other already dead, and managed to stabilize and lift the structure to save the survivor. The deceased worker’s body was retrieved later once weather conditions passed and a structural engineer helped lift the house again.
Both a criminal investigation and an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the collapse are underway, with OSHA saying it has up to six months to complete its review.

A 54-year-old construction worker employed by Connecticut-based Manafort Brothers, Inc. has died from injuries sustained on August 20 when he became trapped between concrete barriers.
First responders extricated the worker and treated him at the scene before transporting him to L&M Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. He died from his injuries roughly a week later.
Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Garett Eucalitto expressed condolences to the worker’s family, friends, and Manafort Brothers colleagues, calling the death deeply saddening.
East Lyme Fire Service Chief William Bundy said no other injuries were reported in the incident, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.