Un trabajador de 33 años, muere de la peor manera: Explosión de un contenedor de solvente (barril de 55 galones).
Causa: Trató de mirar dentro del contenedor y como había poca visibilidad, utilizó su encendedor de cigarrillos para ver dentro del barril. Adicionalmente, en el momento del accidente, hablaba por el celular.
Noticia
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Investigators have determined that the explosion that took the life of 33-year-old Daniel Martinez at Balise Honda Wednesday morning occurred when he used a disposable lighter to peer inside a 55-gallon drum of flammable cleaning solvent.
The state Fire Marshal’s office released its finding Thursday afternoon.
Martinez, who lived in a house close to the rear of the facility, was employed by Real Clean Automotive Detailing, a subcontractor that performs reconditioning work at the dealership.
The Riverdale Street dealership opened for business Thursday morning and grief counselors were present to talk with grieving co-workers.
“I really don’t know what to say,” Mike Balise, co-owner and vice-president of Balise Motor Sales, said of the investigators finding. “It’s a darn tragedy. It doesn’t make me feel any better, I am in sort of disbelief that it happened that way.”
Balise said that Martinez was on a cell phone with his chemical supplier when he apparently used the lighter to determine the level of product inside the barrel.
Fire Chief William Flaherty said investigators made their determination, in part, after reviewing surveillance video from a camera inside the building.
Another man, a Balise employee, was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, Balise said. He was treated and released.
The presence of solvents in the building hampered firefighters’ efforts to extinguish the blaze. Flaherty said it took firefighters about an hour to put out the flames.
Officials believe that, given the duration of the fire, a certain amount of cleaning product was in the barrel when it exploded, Flaherty said.
Flaherty said the force of the explosion propelled the barrel some 25 to 30 feet into the air where it hit the roof and caused it to bow out.
Balise said his company will review its supplies and procedures. “We will absolutely address these procedures and review all the processes that we have,” he said.
The investigation was conducted by the West Springfield fire and police departments and state police assigned to Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan’s office and to the Hampden district attorney’s office, said Jennifer Mieth, Coan’s spokeswoman. The Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting a separate investigation.
Officials with Real Clean Automotive Detailing could not be reached for comment.
According to its website, Real Clean is based in Weymouth and services 130 dealerships in seven states.
