Shingler Falls Off Roof
While shingling a house, a 46-year-old roofer fell more than 20 feet (six meters) to his death. He had been shingling a steep roof section, working in cold weather with a chilling wind. The roofer was not wearing any of the fall protection equipment required for tasks 10 or more feet (three meters) above the ground.
The victim took lunch around 12:30 p.m., and started work again, shingling a small section of the corner of the roof. At about 1:30 p.m. he was discovered lying in the snow. The nail gun he was using was on the roof, suggesting the point where he fell.
Though the slope of the roof was approximately 3 in 5, witnesses confirmed that no fall protection was being used, although toe boards had been affixed to the roof. It was also uncommonly cold for roofing on the day of the incident. The temperature was 24 degrees with winds of 20 mph.
OSHA inspectors made these recommendations:
- Ensure that appropriate fall protection is available and used.
- Consider installing fall protection attach points into a home during construction.
- Stress importance of always following prescribed procedures.
Source: Nebraska Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program, Case Report 95NE010