Douglas County: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Nov 6, 2010: Employee is burned when lighting a smoker containing propane

At approximately 3:25 p.m. on November 16, 2010, Employee #1 was preparing for a n event at a fairgrounds complex. Employee #1 was using a homemade, commercial-t ype smoker, which measured 6 feet tall, by 4 feet wide, by 3 feet deep, had two front doors, and had a rear panel that opened to facilitate loading wood chips a nd lighting the burner. The smoker contained meat that was being prepared for a banquet. Employee #1 had lit the smoker and returned to the kitchen area to assi st with food preparation. When she returned to check on the meat, she found that the flame had gone out. Employee #1 turned off the propane tank, opened the rea r fire box access door, and then used a lighting device to restart the burner. A s she ignited the burner, unburned fuel that had accumulated in the smoker ignit ed and shot flames several feet out of the back of the smoker. Employee #1 susta ined second-degree burns to her hands and face and was transported to the burn c enter in Portland, OR. She was hospitalized.

Incident on Dec 28, 2009 (fatal): Sawmill worker is killed while working with converyor belt

At approximately 8:10 a.m. on December 12, 2009, Employee #1, a lumber stacker o perator, had just returned from a break to his work to move lumber through the o perating system. The lumber was fed into the stacker by conveyor which then dump s it into a trough, where it was unscrambled and moved up an inclined conveyor w ith box chains to a landing table. It was then conveyed to the stacker at the en d of the line. At approximately 8:15 a.m., Employee #2, the bin chaser, went to the stacker to fill the hoppers with stickers. As he passed the operators statio n, he saw Employee #1 lying on the floor under the inclined unscrambler conveyor . He ran to a nearby intercom and summoned for help. Crew members responded and performed CPR until medical personnel arrived. Employee #1 was pronounced dead a t the scene.

Incident on Jun 5, 2003: Employee'amputates toes in machinery

At approximately 5:30 p.m. on June 5, 2003, Employee #1, a barker operator, was seated next to the chop saw operator talking with him while waiting for the bark er to be repaired. During this time, a log became crossed up in the hour glass c onveyor at the jack ladder chain in front of the chop saw operator's station. Th e chop saw operator directed Employee #1 to go out and fix the cross-up while he remained seated in his chair. Employee #1 proceeded to access the area where th e log was crossed up and attempted to move the log. None of the related machiner y was turned off or locked out while Employee #1 was in the conveyor. When the c hop saw operator saw that the log could not be moved by Employee #1, he got up a nd went to help him. As he did so, he accidentally activated the control lever a nd joy stick which runs the hour glass conveyor where Employee #1 was standing. The conveyor roll caught Employee #1 by the right foot and rolled his foot into the pinch point amputating three toes of his toes. Employee #1 was transported t o a nearby hospital where he was hospitalized, treated and released.

Incident on Jan 10, 2003: Employee injured while operating sawmill conveyor

Employee #1 was picking edges at the gang edger offbearer's station in a sawmill . There was a system of conveyors directing lumber to different areas in the mil l. A tipple gate was activated/raised to allow 8-foot pieces of lumber to fall i nto a conveyor to be moved elsewhere. A piece of lumber had crossed up in the ga te which stopped the lumber flow. Employee #1 attempted to remove the jammed pie ce of lumber by activating the gate pedal to raise the gate. As he reached over and pulled on the piece of wood, his foot came off the pedal and the gate droppe d and crushed his right forearm in the pinch point. He received a compound fract ure and was transported to a local hospital for surgery.

Incident on Mar 14, 2002 (fatal): Employee killed after being caught between a shaft and beam

On March 14, 2002, Employee #1 was pulling short boards from the planer when his loose fitting shirt caught on a revolving shaft. Employee #1 was attached to th e revolving shaft by his shirt and was pulled between the revolving shaft and a horizontal I-beam. Employee #1 sustained multiple bodily fractures before his ar ms were torn from his body. Medical treatment was provided by coworkers and Emer gence Medical Assistance while Employee #1 was transported to a local hospital. Employee #1 was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Incident on Jun 20, 1997: Employee injured in 12 ft fall from log haul conveyor

At about 1:15 p.m. on June 20, 1997, Employee #1, a log haul operator at Douglas County Forest Products in Winchester, OR, was attempting to unjam two logs on t he elevated conveyor system. He lost his footing and fell 12 f , landing on top of a concrete worker . Employee #1 suffered a punctured lung and broke his leg i n three places. He was taken to Columbia Douglas Medical Center for treatment. T he concrete worker, who was employed by another construction company, was not in jured.