Construction Fatality Narrative: Framer Falls 25 Feet from House Roof

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  SUMMARY: A framer was seriously injured after falling 25 feet from a sheathed low-pitched roof of a house being constructed. He had 30 years' experience and worked for a framing contractor. His employer had trained him on fall protection. On the day of the incident, the framer was working at the site of a new construction house. The site supervisor assigned him the task of installing bird block vents on the house's top plates. He was doing this job entirely on the inside of the building where he was working from a stepladder. Around 8 a.m., for an unknown reason, he went onto the already sheathed 4/12 pitch roof on the backside of the house. He was not wearing his personal fall protection harness; he had left it in his vehicle. The sheathed roof was wet with dew. While on the roof, he fell 25 feet to the ground below. He was hospitalized with serious injuries. The three other crew members did not witness his fall and the injured framer had no memory of the incident. Investigators determined that the company owner, who arrived on the scene after the incident, had been previously cited by DOSH safety compliance for his employees, including the framer, not using fall protection when required. REQUIREMENTS: Fall protection on low-pitched roofs. The employer must ensure that employees exposed to fall hazards of four feet or more while engaged in work, other than roofing work or constructing a leading edge on low-pitched roofs use one of the following: (a) A personal fall restraint system; (b) A personal fall arrest system; (c) A positioning device system; or (d) A warning line system. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences: Employers should, 1. Conduct pre-shift safety meetings to determine if workers will be doing tasks that put them at risk of falls and reinforce the need for fall protection. 2. Perform unannounced fall protection spot checks to ensure workers maintain 100% tie-off. 3. Effectively enforce their written safety program. 4. Workers should use employer provided fall protection. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Construction Industry Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Construction Fall Protection Personal Protective Equipment PPE Roofers Roof Falls Safety Education Safety Equipment Training Workers Worker Safety

  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065876
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-224-2022, 2022 Jul; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Construction fatality narrative: framer falls 25 feet from house roof
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b6561ab5c4c9f87807cdf4f09f3967c83ff02c5ef6318d7ef50466892d66320b6ce54baf4171016abacadd9958e7241ce06339f806ec3c951b8c6df577b56070
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229125/cdc_229125_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 327.43 KB ]