A contractor working on the new Ivy Tech campus in Logansport has been fined for a series of violations related to a natural gas explosion that sent two men to the hospital, one with third-degree burns.
The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration notified Project Design & Piping Inc. this month that it had been penalized $7,500 for five violations.
On Aug. 17, Project Design & Piping employee Daniel Lee suffered severe burns to nearly half his body when a natural gas explosion rocked the $16.6-million, 81,000-square-foot Ivy Tech building under construction near 18th and Main streets.
Lee has since been released from the burn unit at Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis. The other injured worker, a man employed at Fissel Electric in Logansport, suffered only minor injuries.
The IOSHA report states that Lee’s employer “did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.”
Workers testing a section of gas pipe were reportedly doing so without the ends capped. Human error caused the release of the natural gas that exploded, according to the report.
There was no warning sign in the work area, no lockout device on the shut-off valve that would have prevented the release of natural gas and no safety data sheet for natural gas on hand.
The report also stated that Project Design & Piping had not properly instructed employees in how to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions.
All but one of the matters has been corrected, according to IOSHA. The deadline for employee training is Dec. 23.
A call to the company was not returned. IOSHA says the company has the option of contesting the findings.
Ivy Tech facilities director Mike Karickhoff said he had not seen the IOSHA report and added that the matter did not directly involve the college so he was primarily focused on making sure the campus was ready in time for the start of spring semester in January.
The blast caused no structural damage and work resumed less than two weeks later. Karickhoff says many of the 14 contractors on the project are on site six days a week to ensure a timely move to the new campus.
• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.
Local News
IOSHA fines contractor in Ivy Tech explosion
Violations cost Fort Wayne company $7,500
- Local News
-
-
Principal: Lewis Cass student attacked with piece of wood
A Lewis Cass Junior-Senior High School freshman remained hospitalized Friday after being attacked by a classmate with a piece of wood, the school’s principal said.
-
Dancing with dad: 185 fathers and daughters take to dance floor
Robert Kesling remembers eight years ago when he swooped his daughter Anna off her feet and swayed on the dance floor with the young lady that makes his heart melt.
-
Woman suing Cass Area Transit
A woman is suing Cass Area Transit and one of its employees for “erratic” driving she says left her with a broken arm.
-
Delays in cases of clerk-treasurer, man accused of attempted murder
The defendants in two notable court cases had hearings Thursday, but issues in both required them to be pushed back two months.
-
Former police chief to run for coroner
Former Logansport Police Chief Randy Rozzi filed to run for Cass County coroner Thursday as a Democrat.
- Daddy/Daughter Valentine Dance
-
Victory worth celebrating: United Way raises more than $600,000 for area organizations
Joe Johnson stood at the front of the room where a “small army” of community leaders had just been recognized for their work in raising more than $600,000 for United Way of Cass County. “Woah,” said the incoming campaign chairman. “This is scary.”
-
Accused rapist charged with felony in Arizona
A Logansport man out on bail on multiple sex-related charges was arrested last week in Arizona after police say he tried to attack his dad with a pair of kitchen knives.
-
Jurors: Galveston man not guilty of molest
A jury took only an hour Wednesday to decide that a Galveston man was not guilty of molesting a 9-year-old girl a decade ago.
-
Sen. Head to run for re-election
State Sen. Randy Head announced Wednesday he will seek re-election.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Principal: Lewis Cass student attacked with piece of wood
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
