Feds propose fines over accident that killed six.
Federal officials cited glaring violations of accepted safety standards Thursday in proposing nearly $400,000 in fines against two companies involved in a botched building demolition in Philadelphia that killed six people.
The wilful and serious breaches by Campbell Construction and S&R Contracting led to the collapse of a large masonry wall onto a thrift store, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“If these employees had simply followed the most basic safety precautions, no lives would have been lost,” said David Michaels, an assistant secretary in the U.S. Labor Department.
The companies’ respective owners, Griffin Campbell and Sean Benschop, have 15 days to respond to the citations. Their lawyers did not immediately return calls for comment Thursday.
Workers had been knocking down a vacant four-story structure in June when an unsupported wall crashed down onto an adjacent Salvation Army store filled with shoppers, killing six and injuring more than a dozen.
The demolition site was chaotic and dangerous, according to the 12 citations issued Thursday. Campbell, the prime contractor, was fined $313,000 for violations such as not razing the building from the top down; leaving an unsupported wall more than one-story high; failing to commission an engineering survey; and not providing hard hats for employees.
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