Man stumbles from building engulfed by fire, screaming

Incident summary: A man was fatally engulfed in flames after he used a torch to heat a liquid adhesive that wasn’t adequately bonding to a surface.

What happened: A worker was asked to install vinyl flooring. He was assigned an assistant to help with the task. However, the two crew members weren’t given the safety data sheet (SDS) for the adhesive.

The laborers wanted to finish the job quickly, but the liquid adhesive wasn’t bonding well. The worker thought the room was too cold, so he began to use an open-flame propane torch to heat the adhesive and the flooring.

About 40 minutes later, the torch’s open flame ignited vapors from the adhesive. The two men used their feet to try to stamp out the fire. That didn’t work, so the assistant ran to the exit.

Suddenly, there was an explosion. The assistant looked back and saw the other man trying to shut off the propane torch. A second explosion hurled the assistant through a door to the outside.

A few minutes later, the worker stumbled out of the building engulfed in flames. Screaming, he fell to the ground near the door, just before a third explosion blew off the door. A neighbor called 9-1-1. Responders arrived and extinguished the blaze. They took the assistant to the hospital, but the other worker was already dead from severe burns and smoke inhalation. The assistant survived the incident.

Findings: The two staffers weren’t trained on chemical safety. And the boss failed to give them the SDS for the liquid adhesive. If they’d known the risks, they would’ve made sure the room was adequately ventilated before starting the job. They also would’ve ensured continuous ventilation during the task.

(From the May 5, 2025, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)