Fall from fire escape kills roofing worker in Colorado Springs
Tragedy struck a roofing workplace recently in Colorado Springs after a man fell from a fire escape and died at the scene. The accident — which, given the circumstances, could have happened anywhere — saw the man fall somewhere between 15 and 20 feet according to police. The man was part of a roofing crew that was working on the building where the accident took place. The police have labeled this an “industrial accident.”
Now all of the attention turns to the investigation. The police will try to determine what exactly happened on that fire escape; why the man unexpectedly fell; and what failures, if any, the workplace or building need to address.
The first question that many will ask is why this man was using the fire escape. Did he choose to take the escape on his own? Did his employers designate the fire escape as some sort of “exit” from the workplace? What role did the building’s owners or managers play, if any, in the man’s use of the fire escape?
Then there will be questions about the general safety of this roofing workplace. Why wasn’t the man wearing some sort of safety harness? Did his employers provide him with one? And how does the building’s liability come in to play? Was the fire escape faulty in some way? Did the building’s owners fail to provide a safe premises for the workers?
There are many factors involved in this workplace accident, and hopefully investigators will provide many answers in the coming weeks as well.
Source: FOX 21, “Man dies falling off fire escape in downtown Colorado Springs,” Travis Ruiz, Jan. 22, 2014
