Behind two major OKC blazes were unlicensed OG&E contractors, no oversight or inspections

Two major apartment fires that caused millions in damage took place after electricians, not subject to any independent inspection or regulation, were connecting the properties to transformers on behalf of Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.

The most recent blaze, a five-alarm fire that destroyed apartments at Classen Curve, followed work done by an unlicensed electrician whose company closed soon after.

Lawsuits over the Feb. 8, 2022, Canton Apartments fire, the largest commercial fire in Oklahoma City history, and the Aug. 17, 2017, fire at the Steelyard Apartments in Bricktown both allege workers energized the wrong connections and did not use standard equipment that could have alerted them to the bad connections and prevented the fires.

After delving into the lawsuits, The Oklahoman saw a pattern of alleged negligence with each fire and asked which government entity is tasked with inspecting connections to high voltage transformers. The answer is such work is not inspected at all — and that lack of supervision is completely legal.

Attorneys for OG&E, its subcontractors, and owners and builders of the complexes all declined to comment citing ongoing litigation. But filings by those associated with the Steelyard and Canton apartments both allege OG&E and its subcontractors, operating without any independent oversight, were not following national electrical code.

“OG&E held itself out to be ‘specially qualified in the methods and standards associated with installing equipment used to supply electrical power,” wrote Calvin Sharpe and Todd Goolsby, attorneys for developers of the Canton and their insurers. “OG&E made a bad connection that destroyed an apartment building.”

OG&E declined to answer several questions about its hiring practices, training and licensing requirements, or whether it inspects work done by subcontractors. Christi Woodsworth, vice president of marketing and communications, said the utility does not comment on litigation. The questions, however, did not mention the two fires or either lawsuit.

Woodsworth also referred to court filings by OG&E attorneys quoting fire investigators as saying the fires were accidental. Those suing the utility and its contractors allege the fires were caused by negligence but do not claim they were set intentionally.

“OG&E, like other electric companies, uses contractors to supplement its personnel in order to ensure that it can meet its customers’ needs for power connections, related work and reliable electricity as our service area continues to grow. We have processes in place to vet qualified contractors,” Woodsworth said. “Beyond that, we cannot comment on anything related to pending litigation.”

One development delayed, another still on pause due to damages

Both the Steelyard in Bricktown and the Canton Apartments at Classen Curve were within weeks of completion.

The Steelyard development was being built in two sections, with the first building, Building A, 90% completed and the second one, Building B, 75% complete when OG&E workers visited the job site at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 17, 2017. Job site supervisors the next morning reported workers were being shocked and they observed smoke on the exterior of the east building and in the complex courtyard.

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Court filings by the plaintiffs allege that when OG&E was called out to address the electrical problems, they determined the wrong switchgear was connected to the transformer and that four hot electrical conductors were improperly terminated on the ground wires.

The lawsuit reports Keeling Hawkins, a subcontractor for NE Construction, later tested the connections and found OG&E had again made improper connection, again connecting hot connectors to ground wires. A meltdown ensued, damaging the complex’s electrical wiring, appliances and rooftop HVAC systems.

The Steelyard lawsuit alleges OG&E workers failed to use an OHM meter, also known as a Megger, or a continuity tester to check the connections for short circuits, ground faults or connections to the ground, which would have immediately revealed the existence of a defective condition that could have been remedied without damage to the property.

Residents were still able to move into apartments in Building A by October 2017, but developer Gary Brooks reported at the time that Building B had to be gutted and new wiring was required, delaying the building’s opening by several months. Damages being sought from OG&E in the Steelyard lawsuit total more than $10 million.

Lack of an OHM meter also was cited in the lawsuit filed against OG&E and its subcontractor, Red Dirt Construction, over the blaze that destroyed the Canton Apartments.

The 325-unit complex was a month away from opening when Guthrie contractor Red Dirt Construction, working for OG&E, connected power lines to the complex on Feb. 8, 2022. An investigation by the Oklahoma City Fire Department concluded the fire was likely accidental.

The lawsuit against OG&E and Red Dirt Construction alleges a post-fire inspection of a transformer that supplied power to the building showed a hot conductor was connected to the building’s neutral conductors, creating an electrical fault.

The city received 911 calls reporting smoke rising from the Canton’s roof starting about two hours after work was done by Red Dirt Construction. A packed, recently opened Ellison Hotel across from the fire sustained smoke damage, had to be evacuated, and took months to reopen.

The Canton lawsuit argues OG&E and Red Dirt Construction failed to hire competent employees with knowledge, training and experience, and the work done by Red Dirt Construction should have been inspected.

“Failing to use an OHM meter, Megger, or continuity tester to check the connections for short circuits, ground faults, or any connections to ground,” Canton’s attorneys argued, “would have immediately revealed the existence of a defective condition that could have been remedied without damage to the property.”

OG&E representatives declined to answer a question from The Oklahoman asking if the utility requires its employees and subcontractors to use an OHM meter to check connections for short circuits and ground faults. The utility also declined to say whether its workers at the Steelyard were licensed electricians or how many employees, if any, are state licensed electricians.

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The higher the voltage, the less a job is scrutinized

The city of Oklahoma City employs a dozen people who in 2022 completed 24,640 electrical inspections. Mike Miller, the city’s inspection services superintendent, said the reviews are done to ensure that “proper listed and labeled equipment” is used and properly installed according to current adopted National Electrical Code standards.

Electricians doing work inspected by the city also are required to be licensed by the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board.

“Private electrical contractors can be asked and often are required to provide to the city inspector proof of their state-issued license,” Miller said. “This can also include any journeymen or apprentices working for the licensed contractor.”

Such scrutiny, however, ends when OG&E and its contractors are connecting a building to transformers.

More: OG&E facing second lawsuit alleging contractor to blame for fires at apartment complexes

“The utility company and their sub-contractors are exempt from licensing and inspection requirements from the city and the State Construction Industry Board,” Miller said. “A state Construction Industries Board inspector also has the authority to enter any job site and ask for credentials for the same. Contractors or sub-contractors working for the utility company are exempt from this requirement.”

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board confirmed to The Oklahoman they do not inspect work done by OG&E or its contractors involving power connections.

Electricians doing such work also are not required to be licensed.

Records with the Construction Industries Board show no licenses for Red Dirt Construction and its owners at the time of the Canton fire, Chad and Molly Cherry. Chad Cherry and attorneys for Red Dirt Construction did not respond to requests for comment.

Federal interstate trucking records show the company was registered for freight hauling, and online reviews indicate Red Dirt Construction did home repairs and renovations. Court records show Chad and Molly Cherry were divorced two days after the blaze and the split in assets included income from the sale of Red Dirt Construction.

Unlike OG&E, which provides electricity in Oklahoma City, Public Service Co. of Oklahoma in Tulsa is a utility with a union contract. Brad Perkins, business manager with the 1002 IBEW, said that contract provides Tulsans with additional assurances that electricians working on behalf of PSO are trained, experienced and capable of their assigned tasks.

The union training includes an apprenticeship of up to five years, hands-on training, book work and classes overseen by experienced linemen.

“It’s no different than when a person is working on becoming a doctor,” Perkins said. “We try to make them as well rounded as possible. By the time they are finished, whatever they’re doing, they’ve done it in the past and they can do it again.”

Perkins said Oklahoma is not alone in not licensing or inspecting work done outside of points of contact by utilities and their contractors. With the exception of Alaska, and to a lesser extent New Jersey, Perkins said, most states defer to utilities for regulating their work due to the nature of out-of-state crews responding to disasters.

Perkins said inspections and licensing checks are difficult to pull off in crisis situations when hundreds of linemen race to a disaster and there is no national standards for oversight. Perkins said his union, however, works closely with PSO on jobs outside of a property’s line of contact where the voltage can range between 600 and 345,000 volts.

“The utility companies have inspectors who are full-time employees,” Perkins said. “They are supposed to go out and check off on it. That's the way it works with PSO.”

Jim Griffy, business manager for IBEW 1141 in Oklahoma City, provides apprenticeship and training programs, but unlike the Tulsa union, that training does not involve work outside of a building’s point of contact.

OG&E is not a union company. Griffy said all of the oversight and training for the work done at Canton and the Steelyard are all an internal matter for the utility.

“OG&E does have their own training,” Griffy said. “But when it comes to the high lines, the substations and transformers, no government is looking at any of that, nor do they understand it.”

Steve Lackmeyer started at The Oklahoman in 1990. He is an award-winning reporter, columnist and author who covers downtown Oklahoma City, urban development and economics for The Oklahoman. Contact him at slackmeyer@oklahoman.com. Please support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Inquiry: OG&E hired unlicensed electrician before massive OKC fire