Buffalo Grove, Ill. — This past week, a tragedy occurred in the plumbing industry. On a jobsite, in someone’s front yard, a plumber died as a result of being buried alive due to a trench collapse. Twenty-seven-year-old Nikodem Zaremba was killed when the 8-ft.-deep trench he was working in collapsed on top of him. Zaremba Read more
OSHA
Buffalo Grove, Ill. — This past week, a tragedy occurred in the plumbing industry. On a jobsite, in someone’s front yard, a plumber died as a result of being buried alive due to a trench collapse. Twenty-seven-year-old Nikodem Zaremba was killed when the 8-ft.-deep trench he was working in collapsed on top of him. Zaremba was co-owner of Rooter Solutions.
OSHA is currently looking into this and has opened a formal investigation into the circumstances. According to initial results, the site did not appear to have the necessary safety precautions to keep the accident from happening.
On the recent Appetite for Construction podcast, Mechanical Hub friend, Dave Yates, told the story back in 1972—the first week on the job as a young tradesman—he was called to a nearby jobsite to help three plumbers to safety by digging them out of a collapsed trench. Unfortunately, one was already dead when he arrived. The other, a couple of feet away, was buried up to his armpits. They were able to extract the other two workers to safety.
Survive or not, says Yates, being buried in dirt for an extended period of time can cause major health issues, including complications called Compartment Syndrome, a condition that occurs when the pressure within a compartment increases, restricting the blood flow to the area and potentially damaging the muscles and nearby nerves.
“Victims of a cave-in are in grave danger even if they are not totally buried, and can still breathe. Circulatory problems, Compartment Syndrome, clotting, and other issues can be life threatening or cause serious injury,” commented Tim Doran on Facebook.
Listen below to hear Dave’s conversation on the podcast:
From 1979 to 2019, Yates had employees and bore a responsibility to ensure they had full-time work and would return home to their families safe each day. “Most had never worked for anyone who required the use of shoring. Even our excavators did not have shoring when we first looked at using them as subcontractors. Without either renting it or buying their own, they could not work for us. I told them they could charge extra for shoring because it was an expense for them just like any other job site cost,” said Yates.
Fifty years later, from Yates’ recollection of that day to present day, it seems that there are those that still don’t heed the best given. We pray for Zaremba’s family, and stay safe out there.
PrimeSource Building Products, an international distributor of building materials for residential and commercial needs, has launched GRX Gloves, a brand-new line of quality gloves designed with new levels of comfort and fit to promote hand safety and value. The glove lines include GRX Cold Weather, GRX Industrial, GRX Professional and GRX Tradesman. GRX Read more
PrimeSource Building Products, an international distributor of building materials for residential and commercial needs, has launched GRX Gloves, a brand-new line of quality gloves designed with new levels of comfort and fit to promote hand safety and value.
The glove lines include GRX Cold Weather, GRX Industrial, GRX Professional and GRX Tradesman.
GRX gloves will be available through the PrimeSource network of pro-contractor supply location and pro-supply locations like 84 Lumber and BMC.
See the glove live at www.grxgloves.com
Plugfones are a combination of comfortable, safety-rated earplugs and high-quality speakers that allow you to listen and communicate more effectively on the job. Plugfones feature an ANSI- and NIOSH-certified NRR of up to 26 dB, and when paired with technologies like Bluetooth and noise isolating microphones, they make for the ultimate hearing protection + listening Read more
Plugfones are a combination of comfortable, safety-rated earplugs and high-quality speakers that allow you to listen and communicate more effectively on the job. Plugfones feature an ANSI- and NIOSH-certified NRR of up to 26 dB, and when paired with technologies like Bluetooth and noise isolating microphones, they make for the ultimate hearing protection + listening experience. OSHA-compliant volume limiting models are available.
Visit Plugfones to learn more about the ultimate in jobsite hearing and listening at their website: https://www.plugfones.com/