SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The construction company that was remodeling a historic downtown Sioux Falls building when it collapsed and killed a worker will be fined nearly $100,000 by the federal government for violations related to the site.
The Argus Leader (https://argusne.ws/2pe1uc4 ) reported the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied the fines Monday against Hultgren Construction. The company was cited for more than two dozen violations, some related to the load-bearing wall thought to have caused the collapse of the former Copper Lounge building. The fines are among the largest ever levied in South Dakota by OSHA, according to the agency.
“The employer had employees and temporary employees engaged in the removal of a load bearing wall and piled the brick and debris in different areas of the floor without ensuring the safe carrying capacities of the floor were not exceeded,” one citation said.
Hultgren is currently reviewing the OSHA documents, company president Aaron Hultgren said in an email statement.
Command Center, a temporary labor agency that provided workers for the project, was also fined over $114,000 for more than a dozen citations, including failing to initiate and maintain a safety program.
Brendan Simaytis, an attorney for the agency, said in a statement that the company disagrees with OSHA’s findings and plans to appeal.
“Command Center and its employees had absolutely nothing to do with the ultimate reason the building collapsed,” Simaytis said. “There were no Command Center workers on site at the time of this tragic incident. As a staffing agency, our limited role in this project was to provide workers to work under the direction and supervision of Hultgren Construction. None of the issued citations ascribe any blame to Command Center related to the actual building collapse.”
OSHA says there is a separate ongoing investigation on 24-year-old Ethan McMahon’s death resulting from the December collapse.
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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com
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