Contractor dies in industrial incident at Whatcom manufacturer Saturday morning
A man in his 40s died in a workplace incident Saturday morning at a Whatcom County manufacturer of roofing, waterproofing and insulation products.
Whatcom County Fire District 14 crews were called after 10 a.m. Saturday, July 17, to the IKO Pacific facility in Sumas for the report that somebody was in one of the tanks the company uses to mix asphalt, Chief Jerry Debruin told The Bellingham Herald on Monday.
Firefighters arrived to find that the employee was in the tank to clean it using a pressure washer when he became trapped in some of the machinery inside the tank and died, Debruin said.
“It was very sad circumstances,” Debruin said. “I feel bad for his family. I feel bad for his coworkers who were there and the company.”
The man who died was a contractor, IKO Pacific spokesperson Derek Fee told The Herald in an email.
Debruin said the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries would likely be investigating the incident. The Herald has reached out to see if an investigation has been started and for more details about what happened.
“We are focused at the moment on doing what we can to assist the contractor who passed away, his employer and loved ones and our own people who have been impacted by this tragedy,” Fee wrote.
“As you can imagine, in circumstances like these, there is an investigation underway and we are cooperating with the authorities in determining all of the facts that led to this unfortunate situation. As a result, as I’m sure you understand, it would be premature for us to comment or speculate further until that investigation has been completed.”
According to a release on its website, IKO is family-owned and operated business that began making roofing, waterproofing and insulation products in 1951 in Canada. It operates 15 manufacturing plants throughout North American and and another 20 in Europe and employs more than 3,500 workers.
This story was originally published July 19, 2021 at 11:49 AM.
