Jack O’Keefe, 62, of Methuen, has been recognized because the sufferer who died in the course of the chemical explosion that closely broken a Newburyport pharmaceutical plant and despatched gear flying into the car parking zone.
O’Keefe had been working within the facility’s manufacturing space when the explosion unfolded round 12:45 Thursday morning, Newburyport Deputy Fire Chief Barry Salt instructed reporters Friday.
Four different employees bought out of the constructing safely earlier than being taken to an space hospital as a precaution. They have been launched in a while Thursday, in accordance with authorities.
The explosion occurred throughout a chemical course of that the corporate, Seqens, performs frequently on a regular basis, and authorities are trying into how and what brought on it, Salt stated.
Salt known as the incident an “unfortunate accident” and supplied condolences to O’Keefe’s household.
“We would like to recall his memory and let the family know we, as a fire department and as a city, are thinking of them”
Firefighters within the North Shore metropolis, receiving mutual assist from space municipalities and the state Fire Marshal’s Office, targeted Friday on mitigating hazardous supplies that remained on website, situated in an industrial park close to Route 1.
Salt stated the crews confronted air flow and fireplace hazards as a result of they have been working with “highly flammable” materials. The atmosphere and group at massive stays secure, he stated, including, it was lucky the explosion occurred in a single day with not many individuals round.
“The concern is to keep the ignition sources down to keep the people’s respiratory systems clean and to be able to work to safely finish the day out without incident,” Salt stated of the emergency responders who remained busy on the website Friday.
Firefighters and tech rescue crews recovered O’Keefe’s physique round 5:30 p.m. Thursday from probably the most broken a part of the constructing, an space deemed too harmful to look earlier within the day.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration helps out within the investigation. Thursday’s incident isn’t the primary time the federal company has been concerned on the website.
In 2019, they discovered the plant in “serious” violation over its administration of hazardous chemical substances, in accordance with OSHA on-line knowledge.
In 2021, they have been cited twice extra by OSHA for violations associated to flammable liquids and unsafe waste operations and emergency response. Media stories of this incident on the time describe fires and heavy smoke on the facility main native authorities to declare a Tier 1 Hazmat incident.
The OSHA knowledge exhibits a grievance way back to January 2015 for publicity to hazardous chemical substances, for which the company issued a penalty that October.
Amplify Solutions, a number one consulting companies firm that assists amenities in compliance with OSHA’s security requirements for processing extremely hazardous chemical substances, tweeted Friday that “These types of catastrophic incidents are preventable with appropriate process safety management programs.”
“If you handle highly hazardous chemicals at your facility, please know that the proper implementation of the management systems … will protect your workers, your community, and your business from tragedies such as this,” the corporate added.
In an announcement shared by WCVB, a Seqens firm spokesperson stated the explosion has “shocked” its whole group and workers. The firm added it’s additionally working with authorities to find out what brought on the explosion.
“The safety of our employees has always been, and continues to be, our top priority,” a part of the assertion reads. “We strive to follow best practices and regulatory guidelines, and have implemented safety protocols and procedures to prevent incidents like this from occurring.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”