Blaine, Wash.-based Steve Lemay lost his life while conducting work on the broadcast tower housing the transmitter for Ozarks Public Television‘s KOZK-21 in Springfield, Mo., located to the east of the metropolitan area in Fordland, Mo.
The tower crashed to the ground in a horrific April 2018 incident. Now, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that the collapse of the tower was caused by contractors’ errors.
As RBR+TVBR first reported on April 20, KOZK owner Missouri State University contracted with Columbia, S.C.-based Tower Consultants Inc. (TCI) for work associated with the FCC‘s post-spectrum auction repack process. The station needed new equipment to move from Channel 16 to Channel 23.
TCI subcontracted the tower work to Lemay. He died at the age of 56, while three crew members were injured and later released from a local hospital.
According to the OSHA report, obtained by Current via a Freedom of Information Act request, removal of key bolts during a bracing procedure overseen by Lemay led to the collapse.
TCI suggested a replacement procedure for tower diagonals, effectively X-shaped rods fastened to the tower’s horizontal framework. The procedure involved removing bolts on the diagonals.
The report, Current reports, says that TCI’s suggested procedure for replacing the diagonals compromised the strength of the tower’s legs, causing the collapse.
Further, investigators found that a winch that Lemay used to remove braces was too small for the job. Lemay also failed to provide the design of the temporary frame to TCI for its approval, the report (available below) notes. “TCI is required to approve the adequacy of the temporary frame prior to diagonal replacement,” the report says. However, “the lack of the temporary frame design did not contribute to the collapse of the communication tower.”
The collapse resulted in the closure of Lemay’s business. According to the OSHA report, most of its assets have been sold. This information was provided via an Oct. 16 email to OSHA from Lemay’s business attorney, Vincent O’Flaherty.
The email also notes that Lemay’s wife Carol will close the business at the end of 2018.
Read the OSHA report and related documents:
