Nearly $200,000 in fines proposed in collapse that killed two Kentucky workers
Federal regulators have proposed penalties totaling $181,724 for a company in connection with the collapse of a power plant that killed two workers from Kentucky.
The collapse happened last December at the Killen Generating Station in Manchester, Ohio, which is near Maysville.
Contractors were demolishing the power plant, which had closed in 2018.
The men who died were Clyde Douglas Gray, 42, of Greenup County, and James Anthony “Jamie” Fitzgerald, 47, of Ashland.
The two were killed when steel beams fell during the demolition of the plant, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Fitzgerald was on the crew tearing down the plant and Gray was a truck driver for a company hauling scrap metal from the site.
It took a month to recover Fitzgerald’s body from the wreckage, according to a media report.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced Tuesday that it had cited Adamo Group, the Detroit-based general contractor on the job, and SCM Engineered Demolition Inc., of East China, Mich., for multiple alleged safety violations on the project.
Those included failing to regularly inspect the site for potential hazards such as loosened material and weakened or deteriorated floors and walls, and violations of the general duty to maintain safety, according to a news release.
Inspectors also determined that the companies allowed employees to continue working under hazardous conditions without shoring up or bracing the structure to steady it, and failed to train workers on spotting potential hazards.
“Some of the most dangerous construction projects are those that involve demolishing buildings,” Kenneth Montgomery, OSHA area director in Cincinnati, said in a news release.
The tragedy “could have been prevented” if the companies had carried out proper planning and training, provided workers with the correct protective equipment and complied with OSHA standards, Montgomery said.
Federal authorities proposed penalties totaling $181,724 against Adamo and $12,288 for SCM Engineering, according to the release.
The companies can contest the penalties.
Adamo Group said in a statement that it cooperated with OSHA on the investigation of the accident, but does not agree with the citations and has contested that there was a violation. The company will communicate with OSHA about an informal resolution of the citations, it said.
Adamo Group “was at all times and continues to be committed to the safety and health of its employees and other persons at this project,” the company said.
Gray, who loved music and singing Gospel songs with his family, had five children and was planning to get married, according to his obituary.
Fitzgerald had three children and was engaged to be married, according to his obituary.
Fitzgerald had been laid off but had gone back to work at the plant site only days before the accident, according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family.
