Worker dies after fainting in underground gas tank, fire department says
By Eric Schucht, Michelle Bandur
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — A 37-year-old man from Berkeley has been identified as the person who died after fainting while working underground Monday on a gas tank at a Sacramento Costco.
On Tuesday, the Sacramento County coroner identified him as 37-year-old Ashkan Moghaddam.
First responders were dispatched around 10:45 a.m. to the Costco on Expo Boulevard. A third-party crew member from Ponder Environmental brought in by Costco to clean its underground holding tanks had either passed out from the strong gas fumes or experienced a medical emergency after making his way down, the Sacramento Fire Department said.
The tank was emptied while the fuel pumps were being remodeled. After the man collapsed, the workers were unable to pull him out of the confined space about 10 to 15 feet below the surface.
“The other workers were trying to get down in that hole and take them out. It’s obviously not a good idea. They weren’t on supplied air or anything of that nature,” said Justin Sylvia with the Sacramento Fire Department.
A rescue and hazmat team was dispatched. Sylvia said the fire crews had to take their own safety precautions, using supplied air.
“We need to kind of slow this operation down because we don’t want to become a victim as well,” Sylvia said. “If we become a victim, we’re useless to getting the victim out.”
Once firefighters rescued the man, they had to take even more precautions. They stripped the man of his clothing and hosed him down.
“He was quickly deconned to prevent another toxic environment in the back of a confined space of that ambulance to get all those fumes off of him and all that gasoline off of him,” Sylvia said.
He was taken to a nearby hospital while CPR was performed on him, the fire department said.
He later died of his injuries, the fire department said.
Reporter Michelle Bandur asked the fire department if the worker was wearing a mask or other protective gear. Sacramento Fire said he was not.
Fire crews tested the air throughout the day to monitor the level of gas vapors. It’s something firefighters say companies should do before workers enter confined gas tanks.
“There should have been air monitoring going on continuously through this operation, even prior to our arrival, just because of the toxicity of those fumes, the danger that comes with the explosive hazard of those fumes,” said Sylvia.
The fuel tanks pose no threat to the public. People should avoid the gas station as it remains closed while an investigation is underway, the fire department said.
Ponder Environmental Services confirmed that the person who died was one of their employees, but the organization said it had no comment.
Sacramento County said Cal-OSHA is the lead investigation agency, as this was a workplace accident.
“This Costco gas station has been under construction for the past year. The facility currently has an Underground Storage Tank (UST) construction permit that is regulated by Sacramento County EMD. This is required for them to make the upgrades to the tanks.
A Sacramento County EMD Hazmat Incident Response member has been sent to the site alongside Fire and Cal-OSHA to collect photos and information. The UST would be considered a confined space and the contractor and worker would have been required to follow their confined space procedures,” said spokesperson Casey Camacho.
Cal/OSHA has up to six months to issue citations if any violations of workplace safety regulations are identified.
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