The state levied fines and a license suspension against a drilling company after a large rock fell through the roof of Washougal apartment while nearby workers were blasting in January.
After traveling roughly 250 feet from a construction site on Jan. 16, the 20-pound rock crashed through a roof at the Lookout at the Ridge Apartments complex and into a 9-year-old boy’s bedroom. Joel Schlosser and his son Brody were inside the apartment at the time but in another room.
North Idaho Drilling Inc. had been performing the blasting for several days to make way for utility lines. After a weekslong investigation, the state Department of Labor & Industries found several violations that it characterized as serious, fined the company $14,520 and suspended its explosives license for six months.
“North Idaho Drilling Inc. used dangerous, non-compliant blasting practices throughout the job at Lookout Ridge job site,” the department’s report reads. “They consistently avoided using mandated methods in favor of speeding their operation.”
The faulty practices reported by the department included overloading machinery, not keeping accurate records, not performing proper inspections after detonations and not notifying authorities of the incident in a timely manner. Improper practices were a factor that led to the flying rock, according to the report.
The Camas-Washougal Fire Marshal’s Office, which notified the department, originally learned about the incident through media reports, according to the department’s report.
“During this entire process, North Idaho provided inadequate notification and poor records, making investigation even harder,” the report reads.
After checking with the apartment complex following the incident, workers at the site continued blasting for several hours, according to the report. Eric Lenz, the drilling company’s owner, apparently told investigators that he “wanted to keep his workers busy,” the report states. The fire marshal’s office stopped all blasting after learning about the incident, save a few loaded holes that remained.
When reached for comment, the drilling company declined to discuss the matter.
