NCOSH casting a wide net in its investigation of a fiber installation explosion that killed two
In Featured News by Wireless Estimator April 30, 2019

The N.C. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) is using a shotgun approach to uncover whether proper procedures were followed marking utility lines as well as drilling around those lines prior to a gas explosion on April 10 that killed a shop owner and utility employee and injured 25 other individuals.

N.C. DOL Public Information Officer Mary Katherine Revels informed Wireless Estimator today that NCOSH has opened an investigation against Crown Castle, PSNC Energy, Optic Cable Technology Inc., PS Splicing, and Tower Engineering. ... The Durham Fire Department is also being investigated. Eight of the nine firefighters injured in the explosion have returned to work.

Although Revels said she could not provide specifics of the investigation, she said one of the things OSH inspectors typically look for is to “ensure emergency evacuation procedures were in place.”

Crown Castle’s subsidiary, Fiber Technologies Networks, pulled the permit and hired the contractor that struck the line. Although that company’s name wasn’t provided, it appears to be PS Splicing. ... The company CEO, Don Smith, was at the site when the explosion occurred and suffered severe injuries. He took the “brunt of the blast,” said Rodney Fields, the company’s vice president. PS Splicing was required to make an OSH report within 24 hours since Smith had suffered the loss of an eye and remained in the hospital.
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