Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504100016
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C. LENGTH: Short
The state Labor Department said the citation for nine serious violations and two nonserious violations was issued this week after a four-month investigation of the accident, which also injured four employees.
The investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Division did not determine the exact cause of the initial fire. But the division cited inadequate housekeeping and wood dust as causes of the subsequent explosion.
The division said the fire on Nov. 20 originated in the thermal heating room of the Lenoir, N.C., plant. Ignition could have been caused either by a natural gas or a heating-oil leak at the thermal heater, the division said.
Broyhill President Brent Kincaid was traveling and unable to be reached for comment, his office said. In January, he said he was proud of Broyhill, its workers and its safety record.
Broyhill workers Robert Richardson, 51, of Lenoir, and James Anderson, 46, of Granite Falls, died in the blast, which occurred on a Sunday. Four other workers were released after hospital treatment. Fire officials said the toll could have been far higher if the explosion had happened on a regular work day.
An employee died in 1975, also because of a wood dust explosion at the plant.
The fine is the second-highest given to a particle-board maker in 10 years and the 10th-highest overall, said the state Labor Department.
by CNB