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Safety at Work
Lake Placid, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – An employee of a New York village is ‘on the mend” after an electrical accident at work, officials said.
His accident was one of several over the past two weeks.
Lake Placid, N.Y. mayor Art Devlin said the employee was working for the village’s electrical department when he was injured on May 26. The employee was one member of a crew that was repairing a faulty underground powerline, officials said.
The employee, Stuart Spotts, was working for the Village of Lake Placid Municipal Electric Department, when he suffered significant burn injuries. Officials said the incident happened when Spotts came into contact with a live wire. Spotts was airlifted to the major burn unit at Upstate Hospital. No other details were provided.
Devlin said on May 28 that the employee was "on the mend" and that his family will share updates on his condition at their own pace. Devlin also said the village had measures in place to lend support to other village workers.
"Thank you to everyone for their quick response and expertise in dealing with Friday's crisis," Devlin wrote in the statement. "These actions helped to ensure the best possible outcome."
In Hollis, Maine, an employee of a tree cutting company was seriously injured in a work-related incident.
Hollis Fire-Rescue Chief Chris Young said his department answered a call for a “back country rescue” around 1:30 p.m. Young said the employee of a tree cutting company was doing work off the power lines in the woods, about a quarter of a mile off of Deerwander Road. Officials used a utility terrain vehicle from a nearby Fire Department to transport the worker out of the woods and to a waiting ambulance.
Young said the worker was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland. The worker’s injury was not considered to be life-threatening.
In Brookline (CQ), N.Y., a dive shop employee and a firefighter were injured when a fire broke out at a dive shop.
Firefighters responded to a call for a two-alarm fire at East Coast Divers on Boylston Street.
Communications officer Christina Metcalf said the fire was upgraded to a three-alarm fire and extinguished about an hour later.
“An East Coast Divers employee and Brookline Firefighter each suffered different, non-life-threatening injuries and were evaluated on scene,” Metcalf told Brookline News.
Seven people who lived above the dive shop were temporarily displaced, Metcalf said.
While the cause and origin of the fire are under investigation by the Brookline Fire Department and the state Fire Marshal’s Office.
The company is a decades-old business that sells scuba equipment and sales. According to Metcalf, residents reported hearing a loud boom during the fire. Investigators said the sound was from the explosion of a compressed air tank that the fire reached in the dive shop.
In Maryland Heights, Missouri, a body shop employee was injured in a fire that officials think may have been started by cleaning chemicals.
According to reports in the St Louis media, cleaning chemicals used inside of a body shop are thought to have started a fire that injured the employee, Matt Pagno, the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District spokesperson said.
“A lot of times whenever the chemicals are in use, vapors from them come off, and then when they find a source of ignition, those vapors ignite and that’s what causes fire,” Pagno said.
The fire district urged businesses to use standard safety precautions when working with chemicals, and to ensure that space is well-ventilated and free of ignition sources.
And in Emporia, Kan., an employee was airlifted to a hospital after being injured in an accident at Simmons Pet Food.
Officials with the Emporia Fire Department said they were called to the pet food facility around 6:15 p.m. on May 25. When they arrived, they found an employee suffering from burns.
According to a GoFundMe organized by the husband of the employee, Kristina Bush, said Bush was working at Simmons when “the system malfunctioned and boiling hot water sprayed all over her.”
The fundraiser will help the family as Bush faces a difficult recovery process, and will cover utilities, travel expenses related to treatment and covering mortgage payments.
In a statement, Simmons confirmed the employee is in stable condition.
“Our prayers are with them and their family,” Augusta Branham, senior director of communications for Simmons Pet Food, said in the statement. “The safety of our team members is our highest priority, and we are continuing to investigate the cause of the incident.”
Simmons did not release additional details regarding the nature of the injury. The incident remains under investigation.
The company also clarified that caution tape visible around the Emporia facility and the building’s closure were not related to Bush’s injury and the subsequent investigation. According to the company, the facility had been scheduled to close for the Memorial Day holiday weekend and was taped off as part of a previously planned maintenance process.
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About The Author
About The Author
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Liz Carey
Liz Carey has worked as a writer, reporter and editor for nearly 25 years. First, as an investigative reporter for Gannett and later as the Vice President of a local Chamber of Commerce, Carey has covered everything from local government to the statehouse to the aerospace industry. Her work as a reporter, as well as her work in the community, have led her to become an advocate for the working poor, as well as the small business owner.