Feds fine companies in Orange City roof collapse that killed worker
Two construction companies from Orlando and Alabama were fined by federal officials in connection with a roof collapse at an Orange City Dollar General that killed a man and injured another in November.
According to investigators with U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety Administration (OSHA), the companies failed to comply with building code requirements, and the manufacturer’s engineering specifications caused the roof trusses to collapse.
Torp Rank Construction, Inc. of Orlando was fined $18,853, and Fulcrum Construction Group LLC, of Daphne, Alabama, was fined $10,151.
Orange City police said that on Nov. 8 around 1:39 p.m., the roof of the Dollar General being constructed at 1550 S. Volusia Ave. collapsed, killing Fredys Montejo Polo, 67, of Kissimmee. Polo's brother, Guillermo Montejo, 57, suffered a leg injury and was taken to AdventHealth Fish Memorial in Orange City for treatment.
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Police investigators said that Guillermo was on the roof of the structure taking pieces of lumber handed to him by his brother, Fredys, when the roof began to collapse.
Fredys tried to run but the collapsing roof pinned him, Orange City Police investigators said.
In a news release on Thursday, OSHA officials stated that Top Rank Construction, Inc., failed to follow safety standards. It also did not ensure that the roof trusses were braced to resist buckling, leaning or collapsing, according to federal labor investigators.
The company also allowed workers to anchor their personal fall arrest systems to individual trusses, and exposed other workers to fall hazards, investigators said.
“The risks associated with installing roof trusses are well known in the construction industry, and yet Top Rank Construction failed to follow established requirements to ensure the work was done safely,” stated Jacksonville's OSHA Acting Area Office Director Heather Sanders in a news release.
“Installing trusses safely requires that employers conduct a hazard assessment and address the hazards to properly protect workers,” Sanders stated.
OSHA investigators said they also determined that the worksite’s general contractor, Fulcrum Construction Group LLC, of Daphne, Alabama, failed to protect workers from fall hazards.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: OSHA fines companies in Orange City roof collapse that killed worker
