Fatal accident to a JW on Christmas day
by behemot 10 Replies latest jw friends
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What-A-Coincidence
so ... Celebrate XMAS ur Dead and if you don't Celebrate ur dead
what a connundrum ... yes i can use big wurds
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Judge Dread
The link is not connecting for me, so fill me in, please.
Judge Dread
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behemot
As a devout Jehovah's Witness, Justin Florek didn't celebrate the holidays, so it was little surprise that he was at work at the Equa-Chlor plant Christmas Day, according to family members.
"His faith was his life, his hope and his happiness. That gave him great purpose," his mother, Susie Florek, said Tuesday.
Florek, 25, went missing Friday while doing his rounds as an operator at the Equa-Chlor plant. After a day of searching, Longview Fire Department rescuers discovered his body Sunday morning in an enormous pile of salt, which the company uses to manufacture chlorine, hydrogen and caustic soda.
The incident remains under investigation, but Florek apparently was standing on the 35-foot high salt pile when it collapsed underneath and buried him, said Tim Root, Equa-Chlor's chief financial officer and human resources manager. It's possible a void within the pile collapsed, Root said.
His body was discovered near the bottom of the pile, Root said. Employees don't normally walk on the pile, he said.
Florek's death was ruled an accident, Cowlitz County Deputy Coroner Brett Dundas said Tuesday. He suffocated under the crushing weight of the salt, Dundas said.
A state Department of Labor and Industries' investigation into the death will be complete within a few months, an agency spokesman said. Equa-Chlor has sealed off the salt pile and is cooperating with the state's investigation, Root said.
In a small plant that employs 65 people, the death of one hits everyone hard, Root said.
"It's a very difficult time. He's not only a co-worker, but a friend and a family member for us," Root said.
Equa-Chlor leases 14 acres, including the former Weyerhaeuser Co. paper mill chlorine facilities, off Industrial Way and along the Columbia River. Equa-Chlor shoots electricity through salt water to manufacture chemicals.
In 2007, L&I cited Equa-Chlor $1,800 for six "serious" safety violations, including a failure to install railings to prevent falls in the plant. A "serious" violation means a risk of death exists, said Hector Castro, an L&I spokesman.
The company paid the fine and fixed the hazards, he said.
The fall-hazard citation was in a different area of the plant from where Florek fell, Root said.
Florek started working at Equa-Chlor four years ago, just before the plant went online in 2006, and he enjoyed his job and the people at the plant, said his father, James Florek of Longview.
The job paid well, and Florek enjoyed taking things apart to see how they worked, his father said. He was a big car fan, and he could identify engine parts under the hood from an early age, James Florek said.
In addition to his parents, Justin Florek leaves behind a wife, Amber, and a younger brother, David.
Florek had a great sense of humor, wowing family members with impersonations of actors Sean Conner and Christopher Walken, Susie Florek said. The 2003 Mark Morris High School graduate went on a mission to Colorado for his church after high school, and he attended a religious convention in Europe last summer, she said.
Her son had a knack for making all who met him feel comfortable, Susie Florek said.
"When you got a Justin hug, you knew everything was going to be okay."
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Judge Dread
behemot,
Thank you for filling me in.
What a horrible death.
Judge Dread
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cameo-d
What a freak thing to happen. How very tragic.
I bet they were working with a "skeleton crew" since it was a "holiday". If regular workers had all been there, this might not have happened, or at least they would have noticed sooner that he was missing. Or maybe someone would have seen it happen.
If they can't keep enough necessary personnel on job during a holiday period, by damn they should shut it down for the duration instead of endangering the lives of a less than acceptable number of crew.
My sympathies to his family.
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african GB Member
Sympathies to family
May his SOUL rest in peace
AGBM
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Gregor
Horrible. Poor guy.
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AK - Jeff
Not a great way to die. Sorry the family has to deal with such.
His sleep will be short, his ticket is punched to paradise now.
Jeff
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oldflame
So now they will use this as an example "See Bad things do happen on Holidays so it is good we don't celebrate ! What a joke, to bad the kid lost his life before he found out that the troof is not the troof !