Washington FACE Report: Roofer Falls 19 Feet from Roof
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Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program Reports
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program and State FACE Programs study fatal workplace injuries and prepare reports with recommendations to prevent similar injuries. The following are links to all of the items in this collection:
Documents
- Kentucky FACE Report: Commercial Roofer Falls 30 Feet Through a Skylight While Installing Roof Insulation
- Fatal Occupational Injuries in Massachusetts 2008-2013
- Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) Program
- Washington FACE Report: Glazier Foreman Falls From Stepladder
- Preventing Construction Falls Toolkit
- Hazard Alert: Pedestrian Workers Killed by Forklifts
- Keep Employees in Motor Vehicles Safe
- New York FACE Brochure
- Washington FACE Report: Construction Laborer Falls When Ladder Breaks
- Washington FACE Report: Pipelayer Dies when Trench Wall Collapses
- Washington FACE Report: Carpenter Falls 60 Feet from Bridge Concrete Form
- Washington FACE Report: Foreman and Laborer Fall when Aerial Lift Struck by Vehicle
- Washington FACE Report: Framer Falls 18 Feet while Sheathing Roof
- New York FACE Report: Mechanic Electrocuted when a Mobile Light Tower Contacted Powerline
- New York FACE Report: Two Construction Workers Fatally Crushed when Cement Formwork Collapsed
- Kentucky FACE Report: Construction Laborer Killed in Trench Collapse while Taking Grade Measurements
- California FACE Report: A Heating, Ventilaton and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Contractor Dies when He Falls through a Skylight
- Massachusetts FACE Report: Carpenter Fatally Injured after Falling from an Extension Ladder
- Massachusetts FACE Report: Laborer Fatally Injured after Falling from a Home under Construction
- Oregon FACE Report: Worker Falls When Ladder Slips
- Michigan FACE Information Sheet: Look for Mobile Equipment Blind Spots
- Oregon FACE Report: Collapsed roof trusses kill carpenter foreman
- Washington FACE Report: Roofer Falls 19 Feet from Roof
- Hazard Alert: Plan. Provide. Train. Prevent Fall Injuries & Deaths
- Kentucky FACE Report: 19-Year-Old Construction Laborer Crushed in Trench Collapse While Laying Sewage Pipe
- Kentucky FACE Report: Construction Flagger Struck and Killed in Two-Lane Highway Work Zone
- Kentucky FACE Report:Temporary Electrician Helper Steps into Unguarded Elevator Shaft and Dies
- Fatality Narrative: Roofing Contractor Falls 25 Feet From Church Roof
- Kentucky FACE Report: Construction Siding Subcontractor Installer Killed when Oversized Scaffolding Platform Destabilized and Telescopic Forklift Overturned
- NIOSH FACE Report - Maintenance Worker Struck by Forklift Carriage—Tennessee
- Kentucky Hazard Alert: Roofing and Construction Workers Killed Due to High Winds
- Poster: Secure it to move it!
- Oregon FACE Report: Crane Operator Killed By Falling Steel Beam
- New Jersey FACE Report: Mechanic Dies After Being Crushed Under Electrical Cabinet
- New Jersey FACE Report: Plant Manager Crushed to Death Under Fallen Pile of Steel Beams
- NIOSH FACE Report: Hispanic worker falls from residential roof
- Oregon FACE Report: Construction worker died after falling 20-25 feet from a pump-jack scaffold
- FACE Fact Sheet: Prevent Construction Falls from Roofs, Ladders, and Scaffolds
- Construction Fatality Narrative: Roofer Falls 18 Feet from Wet House Roof
- Construction Worker Killed when Trench Collapsed, Oregon
- A Tree Trimmer is Electrocuted While Trimming a Palm Tree
- A Tree Feller Dies When Struck By a Tree Limb While Felling a Fire-Damaged Tree
- Concrete Finisher Electrocuted When Bull Float Contacted an Energized Power Line
- Warehouse Worker Crushed by Forks of Laser Guided Vehicle
Summary Statement
This powerpoint was produced by the Washington State Fatalaty Assessment and Control Evaluation Program to describe factors related to a fatal fall and means of prevention.
2015
FATALITY NARRATIVE
Industry: Roofing Contractors
Task: Replacing residential roof
Occupation: Roofer
Type of Incident: Fall from roof
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT
Incident scene showing the location
where
the roofer fell 19 feet from the roof.
In March 2015, a 31-year-old Hispanic roofer was injured and later died after he fell from a house roof. The incident occurred at a job site during a tear-off and replacement of a roof on a two-story house.
The victim had worked with his employer, a roofing contractor, for three months as a roofer. He had no previous roofing experience, but had done residential framing.
At 8 a.m. on the day of the incident, the four-member crew met for their daily safety meeting after which they began the roof tear-off. They were each using a personal fall arrest system consisting of a full-body harness, a rope, a rope grab, and roof anchors. The roof pitch was 8:12. The weather was cloudy with intermittent light rain and mist. They worked quickly and by afternoon they had removed the existing roof and were laying down plywood sheathing and felt paper.
While placing sheathing next to the chimney, the victim decided that he needed another small piece of sheathing. The sheathing was located on the other side of the roof. He unhooked from his fall protection safety line then slipped and fell from the roof, landing 19 feet below on concrete.
Coworkers saw him just before he fell, but did not see him fall. They found him unconscious on the ground and called emergency services. He was transported to a hospital. He died 12 days later from multiple injuries to his head and body.
His coworkers did not understand why he unclipped from his safety line. They were all wearing fall protection.
Requirements
Fall protection on steep pitched roofs.
Regardless of the work activity, you must ensure that employees exposed to fall hazards of 4 feet or more while working on a roof with a pitch greater than 4 in 12 use one of the following: fall restraint system, fall arrest system, or positioning device system.
Fall protection work plan.
You must develop and implement a written fall protection work plan including each area of the work place where the employees are assigned and where fall hazards of 10 feet or more are present.
Accident prevention program.
Develop a formal accident prevention program that is tailored to the particular workplace or operation and the types of hazards involved.
Recommendations
- Before beginning a job, ensure that there are systems in place to protect workers from falls. This could include installing multiple anchorages positioned so that workers can safely move about the roof.
- Maintain 100% tie-off while on a roof. Perform spot-checks to make sure all workers comply.
- Encourage safety accountability
Resources
Reducing Falls During Residential Construction: Re-Roofing
(English version)
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/reducing-falls-during- residential-construction-re-roofing.pdf
(Spanish version)
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3579_sp.pdf
Re-roofing safety video. OSHA.
https://www.osha.gov/dts/vtools/construction/reroofing_fn l_eng_web.html
This bulletin was developed to alert employers and employees of a tragic loss of life of a worker in Washington State and is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.
Developed by Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries. The FACE Program is supported in part by a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH grant# 2U60OH008487-11). For more information, contact the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program, 1-888-667-4277.
