OSHA cites Orange County fire extinguisher service company after two workers suffer severe injuries in tank explosion

Employer name: Oprandy’s Fire & Safety Equipment Inc.
49 Brookline Ave.
Middletown, New York

The company sells installs and services fire extinguishers and suppression equipment. 

Inspection site: 49 Brookline Ave., Middletown, New York

What prompted OSHA’s inspection: Two employees were injured severely on Feb. 12, 2016, when a  compressed gas cylinder designed for a fire-suppression system exploded while they were attempting to fill it with compressed air from a high-pressure source.

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors from the Albany Area Office found the air device’s pressure exceeded the cylinder’s listed pressure limit. They also found the Oprandy’s Fire & Safety Equipment failed to train the employees on the procedures needed to fill the cylinder properly.

Additional hazards involved the company failing to:

• Equip the tank and valve assembly with a pressure relief device.
• Assess the workplace for hazards requiring the use of personal protective equipment.
• Require personnel to use personal protective eyewear and footwear.
• Stack and secure fire extinguishers and compressed gas cylinders properly.
• Develop, implement and/or maintain a written chemical hazard communication program and provide employees with training on hazardous chemicals.

As a result of these conditions, OSHA cited the company for seven serious violations of workplace safety standards.

Proposed penalties: $19,774

QUOTE: “Oprandy’s Fire & Safety Equipment needlessly exposed its employees to a potentially fatal hazard that caused them to suffer serious injuries,” said Robert Garvey, OSHA’s area director for Albany. “Injuries are preventable when employers follow basic safety precautions in their industry, and train employees to recognize and prevent hazards.”

View the citations: http://go.usa.gov/xjtH9

Oprandy’s Fire & Safety Equipment has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, meet with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or OSHA’s Albany Area Office at 518-464-4338.