Fatal Industrial Accident Adds to String of Incidents This Month

After a fatal industrial accident on Commercial Street in Everett’s industrial zone – coming after two other serious industrial accidents in the week’s prior – Fire Chief Tony Carli said they will begin a safety campaign with the various industrial employers.

“Just in the past three months, we’ve had three industrial accidents,” said the chief. “We do see an uptick in the summer usually with industrial accidents because sometimes people are on vacation and other people are filling in and with this we are going to go forward with a safety program…I look at us as being the keystone in this. One company on one side of Everett may not know there was a fatality on the other side of Everett. We want to partner with them and educate them. We don’t want to just respond to them, but also prevent them from happening.”

The latest event happened on in the afternoon of Monday, July 19, at a seafood packaging cold storage facility. A 38-year-old man was working alone on a forklift hydraulic system when the machine collapsed on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Carli said once they showed up, it was too late.

“When we got there he was, unfortunately, non-viable,” he said. “Cataldo was with us and they assessed the injuries and police were notified and they notified the state.”

An investigation has begun into the fatal accident by DA Marian Ryan and Everett Police.

Preliminary investigation suggests that a 38-year-old male was working alone when the machine collapsed on him. It is an open and ongoing investigation being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the State Police Detectives assigned to that office and Everett Police. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is also investigating.

Carli said the other two accidents included a serious laceration to the hand where a man almost lost some fingers, and a broken leg – all this month.

He said Dep. Scott Dalrymple and Capt. Tony O’Brien would be working to conduct the safety summit, and they hope to bring all industrial safety officers from various Everett companies to meet together in the fall.

They also plan to visit various industrial businesses to inform them of the accidents and review their first aid kids and safety plans.

“We don’t want to see this starting gaining,” he said. “It’s part of our community reduction responses we do with everything when we start to see an uptick on something.”

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