A representative from the state office of Occupational Safety and Health last week made a surprise visit to the Haines Borough’s public safety building following an employee complaint.
Public facilities director Carlos Jimenez said OSHA representative John Mason inspected the building April 2 after receiving a report of hazardous working conditions, including a rotting support beam in the dispatch office and electrical cords overtaxing the power supply boxes.
The employee, who submitted the complaint on March 27, “witnessed flames coming out of the electrical outlets near the floor,” Jimenez said.
During the April 2 walkthrough, which Jimenez, executive assistant to the manager Darsie Culbeck, acting police chief Simon Ford and fire chief Scott Bradford attended, Mason identified 23 violations throughout the building. Violations included missing exit signs, outlet covers and breakers.
Jimenez said all but one thing on Mason’s list were fixed by the end of the day. He said he checked with other police department employees to see if they had witnessed flames emanating from any outlets, but “nobody has heard of that.”
The complainant also stated employee safety is at risk due to glass in the building’s entryway not being bulletproof. The borough is looking into the issue, but “we’re pretty sure we don’t have to have bulletproof glass in Haines,” Jimenez said.