Construction workers are employed in some of the most high-risk workplaces in our part of the country. Each situation is unique; not all construction workers will face the same dangers during their workday. The particular hazards they face depend not only upon their particular skills, craftsmanship, and assigned tasks, but also upon the type of construction project. For more, read: What Is The Most Dangerous Job in Indiana and Illinois?; Construction Workers: The Most Dangerous Job Today; and Construction Worker’s Danger of Being Hurt or Killed on the Job: High Risk and Little Protection.
Projects can be considered for land use or end use, and they may be categorized as industrial; commercial; residential; institutional; infrastructural; or mixed-use. One of the greatest risks for any construction jobsite is the danger of an explosion or fire, because the risk of catastrophic injury or death to one or more workers is extremely high.
Depending upon the project site, as well as the worker’s job duties, some construction workers may be more vulnerable to explosion or fire accidents than others. Nevertheless, all construction workers should know that the risk of serious or fatal injuries in a worksite explosion or fire exists for all types of construction projects.
Causes of Construction Site Explosions and Fires
After an explosion or fire on any construction site in Indiana or Illinois, there will be a number of investigations into the cause of the event. Law enforcement may be involved, as well as federal or state safety inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). More than one insurance carrier may have its own private investigators on the site to delve into the matter, spurred by the considerations of legal liability (and minimizing that responsibility as much as possible).
Workers hurt or killed in the blast or fire have a right to have their own independent investigations, as well. Advocates for the worker victim and their loved ones may spend significant time and effort in accident reconstruction, as well as working with forensic fire investigators and forensic engineers.
Most construction site investigations will reveal that the fire or explosion not only was a preventable accident but that it was caused by one or more safety regulatory violations. It is often impossible to know why an explosion or fatal fire happened until weeks or months later, after there has been a detailed study and expert analysis.
The causes of construction site explosions and fires are numerous. Examples include things like improper ventilation; fuel leaks; improper use of explosives in demolition; failure to properly store or maintain flammable materials; or not properly protecting or labelling hazardous materials (“hazmats”) pressurized containers.
Defective equipment requiring power (electricity; fuel; thermal; etc.) can cause a fire or explosion. Exposed live wires are notorious for starting fires, particularly in residential construction projects. Arc flashes in hot work on a variety of construction sites are known to cause an explosion in seconds.
Some may envision these risks on the larger construction sites, where there are a lot of sub-contractors and construction workers webbed together as they build an office tower or demolish an old highway bridge. However, even on the smallest residential construction project, there is a high risk of fire or explosion from things like paints; varnishes; solvents; thinners; gasoline; propane; butane; and combustible dust.
- For more, read Explosives and Fire: Workplace Explosion Accidents ; and Known Causes of Industrial Fires: Duty to Keep Workers Safe from Burn Injuries.
Construction Workers Risk Death or Severe Bodily Injuries in Job Site Explosions and Fires
Explosions are especially horrific not only because of their ability to kill or severely injure a great many workers on the construction site but also because they happen in seconds. Worker victims literally have no warning so they can try to get themselves and others to safety.
Additionally, while fires can happen independently of any explosion, most explosions are followed by flames that bring their own threat of bodily harm or death. Workers can suffer catastrophic burns not only from the heat from the explosion or the resulting fire itself, but from the flames or the inhalation of toxic fumes released by the fire.
Construction workers hurt in a worksite explosion or fire can suffer:
- Death
- Traumatic Amputation of arms, legs, hands, feet
- Internal injuries and internal bleeding
- Burns to limbs and extremities
- Inhalation damage to lungs and throat
- Permanent scarring of limbs
- Loss of use of one or more limbs
- Psychological trauma from the event and its aftermath.
For more, read Traumatic Amputations in Industrial Accidents; Internal Injuries After an Accident Can Be Silent and Deadly; and Burn Injuries and Death from Accident Burns.
Legal Duties to Protect Construction Workers from Explosions and Fires
All employers on a construction site, as well as any other individual or company with possession, custody, or control of aspects of that workplace, may have legal duties of care and safety owed to the construction workers on that site. These include:
- 29 CFR 1926.150: On all construction sites, there is the legal requirement that “[t]he employer shall be responsible for the development of a fire protection program to be followed throughout all phases of the construction and demolition work, and he shall provide for the firefighting equipment as specified in this subpart. As fire hazards occur, there shall be no delay in providing the necessary equipment.” This includes specific duties regarding things like firefighting equipment, water supply, and fire alarms.
- 29 CFR 1926.900: For any use of explosives on a construction site, “[t]he employer shall permit only authorized and qualified persons to handle and use explosives.” The employer is also responsible for making sure of other concerns, including no “[s]moking, firearms, matches, open flame lamps, and other fires, flame or heat producing devices and sparks” near explosive magazines or while explosives are being handled, transported or used.
- 29 CFR 1926.152: On any construction site, “[o]nly approved containers and portable tanks shall be used for storage and handling of flammable liquids,” with legal duties also requiring things like “[f]lammable liquids shall not be stored in areas used for exits, stairways, or normally used for the safe passage of people.”
In addition to safety regulations, there are also industrial standards that help define the safety duties on a construction site. The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) provides codes and standards designed to keep workers safe from fires and explosions on the job.
While these standards are not laws passed by a governmental authority, they can support arguments that one or more parties on a construction project failed to meet a recognized standard of care, with this breach causing the fire or explosion and the resulting worker injuries.
These NFPA standards include:
- NFPA 203 Guide on Roof Coverings and Roof Deck Constructions
- NFPA 220 Standard on Types of Building Construction
- NFPA 241 Standard for Safeguarding Construction, Alteration, and Demolition Operations
- NFPA 251 Standard Methods of Tests of Fire Resistance of Building Construction and Materials
- NFPA 307 Standard for the Construction and Fire Protection of Marine Terminals, Piers, and Wharves
- NFPA 312 Standard for Fire Protection of Vessels During Construction, Conversion, Repair, and Lay-Up
- NFPA 423 Standard for Construction and Protection of Aircraft Engine Test Facilities
- NFPA 5000® Building Construction and Safety Code®
Justice for Construction Site Explosions or Fire Accident Injuries
Sadly, construction workers in Illinois and Indiana have suffered catastrophic injuries or perished in explosions and fires that were completely preventable accidents. All too often, construction workers are asked to work despite obvious dangers on the job, where risks are ignored or disrespected by the powers-that-be.
It is absolutely infuriating to realize how simply construction worker lives could have been saved and suffering avoided if the industrial precautions had been appreciated or legally mandated duties of care had been followed.
After there has been an explosion or fire on a construction site, accident victims and their loved ones may have avenues for justice against several employers or third parties that can include the landowner, the project owner, the general contractor, subcontractors, product manufacturers, design professionals, repair companies, and other third parties.
Each case must be given its individual respect and consideration. Investigations must be undertaken into the event itself and the underlying causes. Legal analysis must be done to determine all those who may share legal liability for the horrific event and its aftermath.
For more, read:
- Who Can Be Held Liable for Construction Worker Accidents?
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- Industrial Housekeeping and Construction Site Accidents
- Supervisors, Safety, and Work Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
- Demolition Accidents and the Risk of Severe Worker Injury or Death on the Job
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life.
Explosions and fires on construction sites in Indiana and Illinois can cause some of the most horrific accident injuries. Worker victims and their loved ones suffer so much from preventable accidents. Construction workers cannot trust their employers and others on the site to keep them safe. Please be careful out there!
