The worker died after he was reportedly electrocuted during an incident at a West Virginia shopping center.   August 7, 2023

The dangerous nature of maintenance and engineering activities often gets overlooked by the general public and even some managers and front-line technicians. Unfortunately, the risks ever-present in the work – whether it’s electrical or HVAC maintenance or roofing and construction work – regularly surface in deadly ways that offer harsh reminders of just how dangerous the work can be.

In the latest fatal accident involving facility maintenance, a man died recently after he was reportedly electrocuted during an incident at a shopping center in St. Albans, West Virginia, according to WSAZ.

Police say the man, a 42-year-old maintenance worker, was unresponsive when first responders arrived. They said he was on lift equipment inside the shopping center when the incident happened. A second maintenance worker who was on the lift was treated and released at the scene.

St. Albans Police Chief Marc Gilbert said the victim had recently started with the maintenance company. Gilbert said the pair was working on lighting maintenance when the man who died touched a live wire and bumped into the other maintenance worker. That worker then quickly shut the power off. Gilbert said the pair was the only two in the building at the time.

Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials were on the scene within 15 minutes. OSHA said the company contracted for maintenance at the mall is RPM Facility Services LLC.

By Dan Hounsell, Senior Editor

Dan Hounsell is senior editor of the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.

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