A Texas fireworks firm’s proposed OSHA fine after 4 died in a Florida explosion: $109,375
A December 2022 explosion in an Orlando area warehouse that killed four people should be worth $109,375 in workplace safety fines, the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA division announced last week.
The fine for Magic in the Sky fireworks company proposed by the Occupational Safety Health Administration after finding 12 safety violations is “an amount set by federal law,” Labor said.
Technically, the proposed fine is for Magic in the Sky Florida, LLC, a company registered with the state as being in St. Petersburg. But, the only officer listed is Jacob Dell, who state records and the company website say runs Magic in the Sky out of the San Antonio, Texas, suburb of Boerne.
Dell returned neither an email nor a phone message from the Miami Herald.
Dell and Magic in the Sky are defendants in seven pending civil lawsuits filed in Orange County related to what happened at 901 Central Florida Pkwy. on Dec. 1. Orange County Fire Rescue said more than 31 units fought to douse flames at the warehouse with “fireworks stored inside the building actively exploding.”
READ MORE: Fireworks ‘actively explode’ as fire rips through warehouse in Florida
Landon Bourland, David Gonzalez, Lindsay Phillips and Elizabeth Tiralongo, whose ages ranged from 22 to 27, died. Lindsay Tallafuss had burns over 60% of her body, her lawsuit claims.
A lawsuit by warehouse owner Nathan’s Properties claims Magic in the Sky breached the lease when it “failed to disclose the presence of fireworks and continued to store fireworks on the Premises.”
Among the violations listed on OSHA’s Citation and Notification of Penalty:
▪ “Explosives consisting of fireworks were not stored in a magazine that was fire-resistant.”
▪ “An initial process hazard analysis had not been conducted.”
▪ “Written operating procedures had not been developed to provide clear instructions for safely conducting operations including, but not limited to, the assembly process.”
▪ “The employer did not perform a pre-startup safety review for new facilities and for modified facilities when the modification was significant enough to require a change in the process safety information.”
▪ “An emergency plan had not been established.”
▪ “The equipment and wiring methods were not approved for the hazardous location.”
▪ “The employer did not ensure employees were properly trained or evaluated on the use of the forklift and the ability to recognize potential hazards associated with its use.”
▪ “A written Hazard Communication Program was not developed and implemented.”
▪ “Employers did not have a safety data sheet in the workplace for each hazardous chemical which they use.”
“The deaths of four young workers and a fifth worker’s life-changing injuries exposed Magic in the Sky’s systemic failures that likely led to a fire and explosion the company could have prevented, which only adds to the tragedy,” said a statement from OSHA Acting Area Office Director Audrey Windham.
This story was originally published June 19, 2023 at 2:41 PM.
