OSHA Investigating Cause Of River North Parking Garage Fire
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Preliminary reports state the fire in the River North parking garage was caused by "open flame ignition" and the fire department said the crew did have a torch.
The Chicago Fire Department found Terrell Webster's badly burned remains inside a crawl space above an elevator room, where he and four others had been doing work on the roof Saturday afternoon.
The four other workers made it out with burns.
OSHA is launching an investigation with the company.
Mary Webster, 47-year-old victim's mother said she leaned on her son for help.
"He was always there for us," Webster said.
The mother says she still has questions about what happened to her son.
Investigators are looking into whether the site had proper ventilation.
According to OSHA, Combined Roofing Services LLC has been inspected eight times within the last 10 years. Five of those inspections resulted in "serious" citations. Several involved fall protection and other training requirements.
CBS2 discovered the company was named in a 2015 lawsuit brought by an employee, when he fell off a removable ramp and injured his pelvis.
The case was eventually settled out of court.
The company was contacted multiple and there was no response
Webster's loved ones say 2019 will be a challenging year for them.
"Pray and ask god to lead us and direct us and understand that it had to be his will," Mary said.
