Tenn. Company Requires Employees to Keep Working. Rising River Swept 11 People Away, 3 Confirmed Dead, 5 Rescued, 3 STILL MISSING!

Tennessee is now conducting criminal and workplace investigations into the the employee deaths.? The workers said management forced them to remain at the Impact Plastics Factory as Hurricane Helene floodwaters rose to dangerous levels. Both the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and TOSHA (Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration) are looking Into the circumstances that led to the fatalities.

State law gives an employer eight hours to notify TOSHA about workplace fatalities, but the administration said it had not received a fatality report from Impact Plastics by Wednesday, more than five days after the deaths!

Three workers died and three remain missing after the floodwaters swept them away at the Erwin plant, according to reports.? All told, 11 Tennesseans are dead and 23 missing in what is being described as a historic flood, according to emergency officials.

Governor Bill Lee confirmed Wednesday at a Nashville press conference that the TBI is conducting an investigations into the deaths.? The state probe should reveal whether there were problems with workers being required to remain at the plant until it was too late to escape the floodwaters, Lee said.

The company said that it started monitoring weather conditions on Friday, after heavy rain the previous night, and management sent workers home when the plant lost power and water began to cover the parking lot, and a nearby service road. While most workers left the facility, some stayed at the plant “for unknown reasons”, the statement said.?

Some workers left the industrial park in a truck driven by a neighboring company’s employee, and other Impact Plastics employees reportedly used a railroad track behind the plan to leave because of high water at the front of the facility.? “Due to the quickly rising water, the truck tipped over the five employees and a contractor aboard the truck went missing,” the release said.? “Five others who were also on the truck when it tipped over made it to safety, according to the statement.?

It is outrageous to think that in our country today, company owners, CEOs, and CFOs don't have the time to utilize their Emergency Action Plans (EAPS).?These deaths could have been prevented.

The heartbreaking fact that they knew the any notices from the town, county, state or federal officials to evacuate at any point!

Here are a few questions that investigators will want to know:

Did they have an all-weather radio??

Why were workers forced to remain while the conditions were getting worse?

And to top it all off the founder of Impact Plastics made this comment, “We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees,” Impact Plastics founder Gerald O’Connor said in the statement Monday. “Those who are missing or deceased, and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Companies throughout the United States should learn a valuable lesson from this tragic incident, and that is your employees' lives are more valuable than the business you're going to lose by not protecting their lives. The management of this company will likely be held civically and criminally liable for the lives lost.

If you need assistance with your Emergency Action Plans don't wait till a disaster strikes. Visit?davidawardsr.com ?for more information and assistance.

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For more information, write: Caroline Ramsey-Hamilton at [email protected] ,or David A. Ward at [email protected] .? We provide the best Emergency Action Plans, Active Shooter & Workplace Violence Risk Assessments, as well as Advanced Workplace Violence Training & Drills, as well as CMS All-Hazards Security Risk Assessments