Worker burned during fire died days later, NC officials say. Now business faces fines
A fire at a boat manufacturer resulted in the death of a worker, and now the company is facing fines related to violations including having no sprinklers on site, the North Carolina Department of Labor announced this month.
On Jan. 20, 69-year-old Mack Hodges, Jr. was burned in a fire at Pamlico Boat & Fiberglass Repair in Washington, North Carolina. He died days later at the University of North Carolina Burn Center in Chapel Hill from burn injuries, according to his obituary and the report from the N.C. Department of Labor.
“He was my best friend in the whole world,” Doug Sullivan, the owner of Pamlico Boat & Fiberglass, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
The fire started in a building where fiberglass and resin is sprayed, according to the citation, but Sullivan said they weren’t sure how exactly it started. Once it did, he said that Hodges, who was a member of the Washington Fire Department, stayed to fight the fire. The other employee who was in the building at the time got out, Sullivan said. The building was destroyed in the fire.
“He was a friend doing what friends do,” Sullivan said. “He was trying to save the business and got caught up.”
He said he would rather have his friend here today.
The report states the concrete floor of the building where the fire took place was covered with heavy-duty paper as opposed to a noncombustible material. The Department of Labor also fined the business because areas of the building did not have fire suppression equipment such as sprinklers or fire extinguishers. Fines for those two violations totaled $6,000.
Additionally, the Department of Labor cited the business for improper respirator use and for not reporting the incident to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the Department of Labor less than 24 hours after Hodges was hospitalized.
A family member paid tribute to Hodges on Facebook. “He was always right there,” she posted after his death in January. “I will always cherish the time we had together.”
In total, Sullivan’s business received seven serious and one non-serious violation. He said he hadn’t decided whether he would appeal the fine. He called it a tragic situation.
Washington is about 270 miles east of Charlotte.
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Worker burned during fire died days later, NC officials say. Now business faces fines."