MUKILTEO — A Mukilteo roofing company faces $645,000 in fines for reportedly committing multiple safety violations that exposed workers to potential falls.
America 1st Roofing & Builders was cited for 21 safety violations during four separate inspections by the state Department of Labor & Industries.
The company has already filed appeals, said Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for the department. Appeals can go to an internal hearing officer and then to an outside board. Appeals also can be taken to the court system.
The inspections occurred at work sites in Issaquah and Vancouver. Roofers are supposed to wear safety harnesses with a line secured to an anchor point.
A state inspector saw a worker 32 feet above the ground on a roof of a three-story home under construction in August. The worker was wearing a safety harness, but the harness wasn’t connected to an anchor point, Fischer said.
In three other inspections, the state says it discovered eight violations where employees were on roofs 11 to 18 feet off the ground without proper safety equipment. Those inspections occurred in September, November and January.
Before these inspections, America 1st had been repeatedly cited for serious violations of fall prevention rules at least six other times in the last three years, Fischer said.
Based on the company’s history and prior knowledge of the hazards and regulations, eight of the most recent violations were cited as “willful,” each with a penalty of $66,000.
The company was fined the maximum legal amount of $70,000 for the worker being on the roof 32 feet in the air.
Along with the fall protection violations, America 1st also was cited for unsafe ladder use; not ensuring walk-around safety inspections at the beginning of each job and weekly; not requiring hard hats when working under overhead hazards; scaffold safety; not having an accident prevention program; and for not having someone with first-aid training at the worksite.
Last year, 21 people died in Washington from work-related falls, Fischer said. Of those falls, four died in Snohomish County.
“Falls are the leading cause of construction worker deaths and hospitalizations, and yet they’re completely preventable by using proper fall protection and following safe work practices,” said Anne Soiza, assistant director for Labor & Industries’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Jim Davis: 425-339-3097; jdavis@heraldnet.com
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