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State fines company for safety violations after workers die in Henrico construction fire

Posted at 2:24 PM, Aug 06, 2014
and last updated 2014-08-06 14:34:30-04

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HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has cited a Pennsylvania-based company for eight different safety violations after two construction workers died in a flash fire at a warehouse in Henrico.

The incident happened on Nov. 1 at an empty warehouse located on 7400 Impala Drive in Henrico.

Christian Martoni and Jason Romanczuk were in Henrico doing work for a company called Hadley Construction  based in Pittston, Pennsylvania.

The two were salvaging materials from inside a warehouse that used to house a large printing company called Quebecor.

According to the incident report obtained from the Henrico Fire Department, the men were cutting pipes that once carried printing ink with sparking power tools.

Those tools may have provided an ignition for a chemical that was mixed with the printing ink.

The report said it appears that is what caused a flash fire that burned both victims.

Both the state and Henrico county have open investigations into the incident.

The state cited Hadley Construction eight times for fines totaling $17,880.

The citations include the following:

The employer did not have a person with a valid certificate in first aid training available to render aid at the job site.

The employer had not determined if any dangerous substances have been used in any pipes on the property.  Although the presence of such substance was apparent or suspected, testing and purging was not performed and the hazard eliminated before demolition was started.

Two employees were not wearing a full body harness attached to the boom or basket, exposing them to a fall hazard.

RELATED: Worker burned in Henrico ‘flash fire’ dies

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