MEC&F Expert Engineers : 04/19/18

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Cause of the 4/7 fatal 4-alarm fire that killed Todd Brassner, 67, at the Trump Tower at 721 5th Ave Manhattan was accidental, electrical - sequenced power strips powering multiple components. Smoke alarm not present in fire apartment







Overloaded power strips caused the fatal Trump Tower blaze earlier this month, the FDNY said Monday.

“Cause of the 4/7 fatal 4-alarm fire at 721 5th Ave Manhattan was accidental, electrical — sequenced power strips powering multiple components. Smoke alarm not present in fire apartment,” the department tweeted.


Per #FDNY Fire Marshals: Cause of the 4/7 fatal 4-alarm fire at 721 5th Ave Manhattan was accidental, electrical - sequenced power strips powering multiple components. Smoke alarm not present in fire apartment


Resident Todd Brassner, 67, was killed and four firefighters injured in the blaze, which broke out in Brassner’s 50th-floor apartment in the Fifth Avenue skyscraper April 7.


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The cause has been determined of the raging fire that broke out in an apartment on the 50th floor of Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan on Saturday, April 7 that resulted in the death of a Westchester native.

The fire has been ruled accidental and the resulted of multiple power strips overloaded by electronic devices, the FDNY said.

"Overloaded electrical outlets are one of the major causes of residential fires," sai d the FDNY. "Remember, power strips and surge protectors don’t provide more power, and extension cords are for temporary use only. Always plug appliances directly into wall outlets."

There were no smoke alarms in the apartment, the FDNY said.

The blaze, which was upgraded from three alarms to four alarms, erupted at the 58-story, 664-foot high mixed-use skyscraper on Fifth Avenue near West 56th Street just before 6 p.m. April 7.

Firefighters found the Westchester native, identified as 67-year-old Todd Brassner, unconscious and unresponsive when they entered the apartment.

"The apartment was entirely on fire," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. "Members pushed in heroically, they were knocking down the fire and found one occupant of the apartment who is in critical condition."

Brassner was transported in critical condition to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital, where he died a short time later.

Four of the approximately 200 firefighters who responded suffered non-life threatening injuries, the FDNY said.

A Harrison native, Brassner was a 1969 graduate of the New Rochelle Academy, a private school that closed in 1987.

Randy Wilson, 44, a worker with Thyssenkrupp Elevator was killed in an elevator shaft at the construction site for the new Mount Carmel Grove City hospital in Grove City, OH

Randy Wilson, 44 was pronounced dead the the North Meadows Drive site just before 1:00 p.m.









Randy Wilson, 44 was pronounced dead the the North Meadows Drive site just before 1:00 p.m.


GROVE CITY, Ohio — 
 
The family of a construction worker killed in an accident Tuesday at the site for the new Mount Carmel Grove City hospital is thanking the Central Ohio community for the support they are receiving.

Randy Wilson, 44 was pronounced dead the the North Meadows Drive site just before 1:00 p.m. His sisters Stacie Spears, Darbie Everhart and other family gathered in Dublin Wednesday to mourn his loss.

“People know we are such a tight family. We have cousins who are like brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles.Everybody is just so close. Everybody is wrapped around us . People I haven’t heard from since high school are reaching out and it, and I wouldn’t think it would help , but it helps a lot. It helps a lot,” said Spears.

Everhart said her brother was like a real-life Superhero.

“Seriously, he thought he was like Superman but so did everybody else. He was unbreakable and invincible. He had a lot of energy, never met a stranger, would help anybody. He had friends from all walks of life,” said Everhart.

Spears said they know that OSHA is investigating the accident, but have no details about what went wrong. “I do want answers. I am one of those people that needs to know exactly what happened,” said Spears.

“He was very safe. He just took a safety course. Randy was probably one of the safest workers out there. It is a dangerous job. He was completely aware of it,” said Everhart, who said she is touched by the fact his coworkers are also struggling with the loss.

Wilson shared a home with his long-time girlfriend, her daughter, and their 4-year old little girl. “His daughter has to grow up without him. That is the biggest tragedy of all,” said Everhart. “She loves her daddy, her daddy is her world. Everybody knows it. And she will ask for a long time, where’s her daddy, and that is the painful part.”

According to OSHA reports for the elevator company, ThyssenKrup has had one death of a maintenance worker killed when he fell down an elevator shaft in 2013 in Dallas. As for injury reports in Ohio, there have been four since 2015. The latest in Columbus happened in September of 2016 when a cinder block hit an employee in the head and broke his neck.

Funeral arrangements for Wilson, an Olentangy High School graduate are pending.

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By Beth Burger
The Columbus Dispatch



  April 18, 2018


Grove City, OH

Grove City police and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating after a worker was killed in an elevator shaft at the construction site for the new Mount Carmel Grove City hospital.

Jackson Township paramedics were called at 12:53 p.m. Wednesday to the fatal incident at the hospital, 5300 N. Meadows Drive. The male worker was pronounced dead shortly afterwards by responding paramedics.

The identity of the worker was not released publicly Wednesday.

Sean McKibben, president and chief operating officer of Mount Carmel West, said the health system was sad to learn that a Thyssenkrupp Elevator employee had been killed.

“We will work with all of the relevant authorities and regulators to investigate the circumstances of this accident,” he said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Thyssenkrupp Elevator likewise said the company is cooperating with authorities and investigating: “Our deepest sympathies go out to our Thyssenkrupp Elevator employee, his family and colleagues.”

Work has been ongoing on a new five-story hospital to include an expanded emergency department, a new patient tower and surgical suite and intensive care, maternity, oncology an palliative care services. It is scheduled to open in November.