FARMINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued fines for LEAP, Inc. and Techno Metal Post Maine LLC earlier this month, in each case citing a serious violation of the general safety and health provisions of the agency’s regulations.
LEAP, or Life Enrichment Advancing People, owned the newly-renovated office building at 313 Farmington Falls Road that was destroyed in an explosion on Sept. 16, 2019. According to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, bollards were installed by Techno Metal Post Maine to protect an air conditioning unit a few days prior to the explosion, with one of those bollards’ auger heads severing a buried propane line. Investigators believe that propane then entered the building’s basement.
The building exploded on the morning of Sept. 16, as a Farmington Fire Rescue crew was investigating a report of a gas smell within the building. Several firefighters and one LEAP employee, maintenance supervisor Larry Lord, were badly injured in the blast and Capt. Michael Bell, 68, was killed. All of the injured firefighters have since left the hospital, while Lord – who was recently honored by the American Red Cross for evacuating the building prior to the explosion – was transferred out of Massachusetts General Hospital to a rehabilitation hospital last month.
The blast destroyed the building as well as several nearby structures, displacing roughly 30 people.
In the days following the explosion, OSHA opened inspections into four entities: LEAP, Techno Metal Post Maine, CN Brown and Cornerstone Plumbing and Heating. Previously, an OSHA spokesperson indicated that the latter three businesses had worked at the site.
Part of the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA is responsible for employee safety in the private sector and federal workplaces. The agency has up to six months to complete an inspection after one is initiated.
LEAP and Techno Metal Post Maine were both fined under the same provision of the “general safety and health provisions,” namely 1926.20(b)(2) which states: Such programs shall provide for frequent and regular inspections of the job sites, materials, and equipment to be made by competent persons designated by the employers. The violations were classified as “serious,” generating fines of $12,145 and $4,048 for LEAP and Techno Metal Post Maine, respectively.
LEAP and Techno Metal Post Maine have until April 17 to either pay or contest the fines.
Inspections on Cornerstone and CN Brown remain open, according to OSHA’s website.
As if LEAP hasn’t suffered enough, right?
Osha’s fines are unreasonable!! I get what they are trying to do, but they expect to hold working folks to a national standard even though we’re not on a national pay grade. Osha has come onto a site, slammed 3000 something dollar fines on us for less than perfect tool conditions. Plus cut the cords off the corded tools they say are unsafe, and stated the staging must be removed. We’re not a union, we don’t charge 75-100$ an hour, we would never get any work. When a job takes bids they look for a cheap bid, thus you sometimes have less than perfect conditions. They should have a scale based on the location, that corresponds with those wages. Meanwhile some of the most dangerous situation, (mainly corporations) goes on unchecked for years. This a system that needs to be fixed.
OSHA is one of the most shameless, heartless, horrible government agencies in existence!!!! When they
Show up to investigate something, you can be assured that there will be a fine coming soon. My little mill
Suffered thru 2 random OSHA inspections during the 19 years i owned it. I got fined for stupid silly violations. This terrible incident resulted in many injuries and one fatality. I am very surprised that the fines were so small. My fines were much larger and i got pinced for a missing guard on an air compressor, broken/missing covers
On a few light switches, and no OSHA approved training for the forklift i had been operating for over 10 years.
I guess maybe someone over there has a heart and lowered the fines to these levels.
Someone in the legislature should get enough nerve to go after these folks (OSHA) and make them change
Their methods. They have too much power and they abuse it everyday!!! Ask any business owner. OSHA
Has millions of rules, some good but many kind of ridiculous. Walking while chewing gum in the workplace is
Probably an OSHA violation. Changes must be made at that agency!!! How about you Scott L??? How about you Governor Mills? Or maybe we could get the big guns to go after them….Senator Collins, Angus, Mr. Golden….any takers? There is no need to have a fine on the folks at LEAP….it was an accident. Nobody at
LEAP did anything wrong that requires a FINE. How about a simple warning or some “OHSA approved”
training for whatever violation occured? I am now wondering if there will be a fine coming for our local fire department? Maybe they are exempt because they are part of local government? Anyhow, would someone
please go after these power hungry folks and stop the madness!!!!
Is there no way to pardon LEAP? They certainly have suffered enough. The losses should against any fine.
I worry about the impact to those serviced by this great organization. They do amazing work!!
Thank you, LEAP!
OSHA are just doing their jobs. I’m pretty surprised that’s all LEAP got for fines. I’m sure they won’t have any issues paying for that with all the donations they recieved.
Accidents happen that maim and take lives and often are the result of ignorance, lack of training, or disregard for operating rules. Of course, there should be consequences.
OSHA is a federal agency, not state. Gov. Mills would be way overstepping her authority if she got involved in this.
This accident impacted MANY lives and the conditions that led to the explosion endangered many lives … if the standards for which they were cited were actually followed would it have spared those impacted this trauma and loss? If there is a reasonable expectation that following the standards would have prevented the explosion then this is a small fine compared to the costs already paid in lives changed and lost.
Yes to what Marie stated plus the following of procedures.I think the public should be informed as to all the steps taken leading up to the leak and all events leading up to the explosion.We should be made aware of the circumstances that allowed anyone close to a known gas leak of this magnitude.Mr Lord had thankfully all ready evaluated the building.
Just want to say thanks for all the people who continue to support LEAP and all the lives that were impacted by this terrible accident.
I agree with Mike D….someone has needed to stand up against OSHA for MANY years. It is ridiculous how many small and larger businesses have shut down because of OSHA and the ever increasing cost of Liability insurances.
LEAP, and other agencies like them, not only provide a valuable service, but they also provide much needed job opportunities to our communities that have been lacking because of other businesses shutting their doors.
Thomas
I am well aware they are a federal agency. You would be surprised how much clout a state governor can
Weild. She may not be able to change any of those federal rules, but she can certainly sway them to give
The maximum reduction in penalties. I generally don’t like it when the state government gets in the way of
Anyone, but when we’re talking about the FEDS, i say go for it. The only things worse than over bearing state
Government rules and regulations are over bearing federal government rules and regulations. A previous
Commenter is correct that OSHA has hurt ALOT of small business owners in this country. They access big
Fines for minor infractions and will not waive them!!!! They take hard earned money right out of the pockets
Of small business owners. This is money that could be used to fix the violations. Seems like common sense
To let the business keep the money if they make the needed reforms, but NO WAY….not allowed by OSHA.
You MUST pay the penalty. Business owners are required to know ALLLLLLL the federal rules, even the new
Ones that are created every week.
LEAP sounds like a good company.
The company that dug the post is probably a good company too.
CNBrown, Cornerstone all fine I’m sure.
I’m not seeing much “Public”safety awareness in the comments critical of Osha.
I don’t know if the fines will help prevent another such incident,,, but this can’t be just “let go”.
I’m not for our against LEAP in any way, but THIS ISN’T ALL ABOUT LEAP.
A massive deadly explosion occurred in a residential area in our town and to suggest that we just MOVE ON is callously disregarding the safety of everyone else.
Therefore exactly what caused it and what is being done to protect the public from a reoccurrence IS EVERYONES BUSINESS.
It’s not all about LEAP.
It’s about ALL OF US IN THE PUBLIC when it comes to something like this.
OSHA,,The Courts,,The Gov all need to stay on this until everything is gone over, preventive measures instituted and compliance verified. And yes, punishment for wrongs done.
Yes,this sucked for EVERYONE.
Why wasn’t Farmington fire fined for carelessness and apparently not following any protocol from training in which it appears to me there was a complete lack of.
Was a one call placed before the auger bit was used to drill a hole in the ground. Call before you dig!
Did the folks who are so sympathetic to the two firms miss the part of the story that stated several firefighters and an employee were injured and the chief killed. There seemed to be no sympathy for them and their familis. Give me a break!
Jordan
Exactly, plenty of blame to go around, as taxpayers we paid a lot of money for haz mat training and the Fire Depts. all want to be paid like professional Fire Fighters. They stand up in front of us at Town Meetings and play on emotions, demand to be paid ,fulltime departments but aren’t held accountable for their actions. God knows we need their services but let’s be reasonable about it. Years ago they were all volunteers and were proud to do the job, now it seems as though money has ruined that.
LEAP, as landowner, should ultimately be responsible. They, if anyone, might have deserved a fine for authorizing where to drill without proper research. TechnoPost however did not deserve a fine as I’m sure they drilled where they were told. And why was CN Brown let off? Refilling a tank with 400gl of liquefied propane after just a few days in warm weather deserves a punishment if anyone does. And what about the people that didn’t follow protocol?
Furthermore all American adults deserve a fine for allowing OSHA to exist in its present form.
So shouldn’t there be an investigation on why the fire department was sent into a fully energized building with a suspected LP leak ??? Mr. Lord did his job evacuated the building there was no need for anyone to enter that building at that point.
To Wondering, Jordan, and Mainer…………. Does this mean you guys are going to man up, step forward, join up, show up as needed, and train with enthusiasm so the Farmington Fire Department can go back to being run by strictly volunteers who are spot-on in every instance? I really hope so; that would be so good for the town.