Trench Rescue Australia

An update to incident WA23 (previously posted), which was an incident that occurred in Dalkeith in 2019 (21st June). Worksafe succesfully prosecuted the owner/builder in 2024, with a fine of $70,000 plus $4,000 costs. The prosecution summary is attached below:

Sad news out of Victoria, a worker has died today in a trench collapse at a housing estate in Kilmore, Victoria. I'll post more details if/when they come to hand.

Victorian Coroner Leveasque Peterson last week released her findings (https://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/inquests-findings/findings) in the deaths of Charlie Howkins and Jack Brownlee, due to the incident at the Winterfield Estate in Winter Valley on March 21, 2018.

Rather than go through the entire documentation, a somewhat briefer summary is provided here.
Case COR 2018 001329 - Charles Clarence Howkins
Case COR 2018 001357 – Jack Brownlee

Other than the mechanism of death for each of the deceased, the findings are the same for each case.

Cause of Death - Charlie
“The post-mortem examination revealed Charlie sustained significant head injuries including a hinge fracture and a subarachnoid haemorrhage. Hinge fractures occur when the head receives severe blunt force usually to the side of the head (as in this case).
Although the head injuries Charlie sustained were severe, and sufficient to cause death, Dr Almazrooie could not exclude the contribution of suffocation (oxygen deprivation under the soil), to Charlie’s death.
Toxicological analysis did not identify the presence of any drugs or alcohol.
Dr Almazrooei provided an opinion that the medical cause of death was 1(a) Head Injury.”

Cause of Death - Jack
“The post-mortem examination revealed acute compartment syndrome in Jack’s arms and legs, together with several other injuries including a subarachnoid haemorrhage, cerebral ischemia, and bilateral plural effusions.
Acute compartment syndrome can lead to metabolic derangement and death.
Toxicological analysis identified the presence of midazolam, morphine and ketamine that were provided as part of resuscitative efforts and did not contribute to Jack’s death.
Dr Parsons provided an opinion that the medical cause of death was 1(a) Complications of injuries sustained when a trench wall collapsed.”

Note: Jack passed away from his injuries at the Royal Melbourne Hospital on March 22, 2018.

Family Concerns
The families of both victims had a number of concerns that they felt hadn’t been adequately addressed in the criminal prosecution of Pipecon by Worksafe. Two are of particular interest to us as rescuers, specifically:

- The positioning of Jack and Charlie prior to the trench collapse, had not been adequately clarified in previous investigations and legal proceedings.

- The rescue may have caused an exacerbation of Jack’s injuries due to the use of the excavator.

In particular, the Brownlee family was concerned that the use of the excavator in Jack’s rescue may have been a contributing factor in his death. David and Janine wanted to know whether Jack’s injuries may have been exacerbated by the pressure that resulted from the use of the Pipecon excavator in the rescue.

The Brownlee family, together with Dr Cormie (Charlie Howkin’s widow), urged the court to obtain further evidence and expert reports.

Some Answers
Positioning - Based on the evidence of Jon Haynes (attending Paramedic), the Coroner found, on the balance of probabilities, that Jack and Charlie were not in the trench at the time of the collapse, rather they were on the edge of the trench.

The Use of an Excavator - There is no evidence to suggest that either the choice to use the excavator or the operation of the excavator caused or contributed to Jack’s death.
There is no evidence to suggest that an alternative rescue approach was preferable, possible or warranted.

Expert Evidence:
Expert reports were obtained from medical, geotechnical and rescue experts. Dr David Eddey (a medical expert), Mr Patrick Wong (a geotechnical expert) and Mr Mark Dobson (a rescue expert) were commissioned by the Court to assist with the investigation. The CFA also provided an additional expert geotechnical report from Mr Alex Rodriguez.

Expert Geotechnical Evidence:
Based on the information and photographs contained in the brief, Mr Wong made a number of calculations of the earth pressure induced by the excavator used during Jack’s extrication.
In his first report Mr Wong considered that the use of the excavator would have caused a relatively small increase in soil pressure (2.5 kPa). He observed a pressure of 2.5 kPa is equivalent to the water pressure on a person at 25 cm water depth, and this pressure is very small when compared to divers who routinely dive to significantly greater depths without difficulties.
In his supplementary report Mr Wong concluded that the additional analyses using revised geometry of the collapsed trench resulted in a small increase in pressure from his original calculations. However, the revised calculations did not alter Mr Wong’s conclusion that the absolute increase of pressure was relatively small.

Mr Wong also concluded the excavator would have only caused relatively low-level ground vibrations during excavation, adding the only time excavators cause ground vibrations is when they are travelling at highspeed and then undertake a turn whereby the excavator tracks slew which causes high friction on the ground. This scenario could be excluded based on the evidence to hand describing the rescue.

Mr Rodriguez provided a description of the geology of the trench collapse, noting the soil was a sandy clay. Mr Rodriguez considered the soil composition, the layout of the trench and the excavator specifications. He then calculated the lateral earth load noting that this would lessen as soil was removed from the site.
Mr Rodriguez concluded that the weight of the excavator did not add to the crushing forces on Jack. His conclusion was based on the fact that the distance of the excavator was too great for vibration from the excavator motor to increase the crushing pressure on Jack. Mr Rodriguez noted the action of the excavator bucket would have a slight effect on lateral soil pressure however, the additional load from the bucket action would have been quickly offset by the reduction in soil weight.

Mr Rodriguez concluded that: the weight of the excavator would not have added to the crush force on Jack, the vibrations may have contributed, albeit insignificantly; and the effect of use of the excavator so as to minimise its forces was likely not significant.

Expert Rescue Evidence:
Mr Dobson concluded:
a) The nature of the excavations at the site of the trench collapse, poor ground conditions, and the presence of intersecting trenches, would have prevented the effective use of any form shoring system to assist in Jack’s rescue;
b) The decision to use the on-site excavator, to assist in removing a large amount of earth and soil near where Jack was trapped, was the correct one;
c) Anyone who undertook training to achieve competency in undertaking trench rescue would consider the use of an excavator as a legitimate method of removing large amounts of earth and soil to assist in the rescue of the victim; and
d) The excavator was used effectively, and as safely as possible in this situation, to remove large amounts of earth and soil to not only expedite Jack’s extrication but to also create a safe working environment for rescue personnel.

To summarise:
The rescue operation was performed carefully and thoughtfully, ensuring that emergency services personnel were working as safely as practicable in the dire circumstances.

An update to a previous trench collapse in SA in 2022 for the case study.
- $75,000 fine ✅
- $20,000 payment to the carer ✅
- Injure your worker so he gets an amputation to the big toe ✅
- Unable to work since the accident? ✅
- Structurally support the entire length of the 14-metre trench ❌
- Have it regularly inspected by a suitably competent person to ensure it was behaving as expected ❌
- Go out of business? ✅

Court transcript attached also...

$55,000 fine for smacking someone with an excavator...

https://www.fireengineering.com/technical-rescue/trench-rescue-understanding-soil/

Using SCIENCE to make trench rescues safer.

Trench Rescue: Understanding Soil - Tech Rescue Training A working knowledge of current soil mechanics research and trench collapse best-practice shoring requirements can help firefighters avoid dangerous mistakes.

Legal shenanigans afoot in the Delacombe trench collapse inquest...

Today is all about South Australia.
2 x incidents that are pretty light on the details, one in Totness ( ) in 2022, the other in Victor Harbor ( ) in 2024. The last incident is , which occurred in Rumble Creek back in 2021 and was previously reported on in this forum. The company involved is subject to an enforceable undertaking that will cost it about $306,000...

Update on the inquest into the 2018 deaths of Charles Howkins and Jack Brownlee:

The families of two men killed when a trench collapsed at a Pipecon work site have been dealt another blow, after an unsuccessful attempt to get the Coroner's Court to look at wider industry safety standards.

At a hearing at the Coroners' Court on Monday, lawyers representing the families of Charles Howkins, 34, and Jack Brownlee, 21, sought to have the inquest also look at industry standards and training around trench work, beyond its scope of the two men's deaths.

Mr Howkins and Mr Brownlee died in 2018 while working at a Pipecon construction site in the Winterfield estate in Winter Valley, after the collapse of a trench they were working near.

After the two deaths, Pipecon, the Ballarat-based builder responsible for the site, was brought to court by Worksafe Victoria, and paid a $550,00 fine after pleading guilty to safety negligence.

At Monday's Coroner's Court hearing, the court heard the families were left unsatisfied by the scope of the WorkSafe prosecution, and sought a more thorough examination of industry standards.

Coroner Leveasque Peterson however said an investigation of industry standards around trench work would go "beyond the remit" of the coroner's court and denied the application.

The inquest into the two deaths, pencilled in for June this year, will look into the circumstances surrounding the rescue attempt of Mr Brownlee, who was still alive when he was pulled from the collapsed rubble.

The inquest will also examine specifically the use of an excavator in digging up a hole to free Brownlee from the rubble, and whether it made things worse for Mr Brownlee, who died in hospital the day after.

Expert reports from geotechnical and geomechanical engineers have been tendered with the court about the forces the excavator would have had on Mr Brownlee.

Lawyer Dale Brown, who was representing the Brownlee family, told the court the family was also funding a separate geomechanical engineer to potentially write a report on the impact the excavator had on the Brownlee rescue.

Other parties present at the hearing included representatives from the CFA, WorkSafe, Fire Rescue Victoria, Ambulance Victoria, the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, police, Pipecon and the United Firefighters Union.

The matter was adjourned until May 17 for another preliminary hearing ahead of the inquest beginning in June.

Source: The Courier, February 27, 2024

VIC114. May 1997. Fatality - Justin O'Connor. Of interest because the coroners report is included. A series of recommendations are made that could have just as easily been dated 2024 because progress in this field across the country is ALMOST non-existent, but they include: (1) Trench rescue training of MFESB personnel should be re-assessed and expanded to include reference to:
a) hazards involved with trenches near backfilled soil and existing service trenches, as. depicted in the 1988 Victorian "Code of Practice for Safety Precautions in Trenching Operations;"
b) hazards involved in trenches in close proximity to groundwater or nearby sewers, drains and the like.
c) practical training in 'quick' rescue techniques, such as the correct way to use excavators safely to rescue a buried worker, without further risk to the worker.
(2) Training of MFESB designated trench rescuers should be on a more regular basis than appears to have been in the past.
(3) The MFESB Draft Trench Rescue Manual 1999 needs to be expanded to give guidance on the correct techniques to be used when battering (such as where and how a trench should be battered or benched when someone is buried) or employing trench shields (such as where and how shields should be placed) in a trench rescue situation and also on the dangers involved in these techniques
(4) Consideration be given to the preparation and use by MFESB personnel of a standard questionnaire/checklist upon arrival at a construction site rescue, that addresses, inter alia:
a) soil and ground water conditions;
b) evidence of soil instability;
c) location of underground services and trenches;
d) previous history of soil collapses, trench failures;
e) resources and expertise available that could assist in the rescue effort.
5) Upon formulating a rescue plan following appraisal of risks and uncertainties, a contingency plan should be prepared and appropriate know-how, equipment and resources made ready as a fall-back option. In a trench rescue scenario both a pump and a fresh air blower should be tested on arrival at the accident site and be on immediate standby.
(6) An exclusion zone should be declared around the scene of a trench accident, or soil collapse, which takes into account the likelihood of a primary or secondary soil collapse due to the presence of bystanders and rescue personnel, or other destabilising activities. Only personnel and equipment that are directly related to essential medical care, emergency activities and rescue efforts should be permitted to enter the exclusion zone, with any such personnel working on planks or other hard protective materials to ensure adequate stability of the excavation.
(7) Rescue teams should be encouraged to consult with both workers on site and WorkCover representatives, as their practical experience may be invaluable. This does not mean that the rescue team is handing over control to the site workers, but giving due consideration to their advice creates harmony and may assist the rescue efforts.
(8) A training video covering all aspects of trench rescue (including how not to carry out a rescue) be produced, possibly funded by the WorkCover Authority or the various bodies involved in trench rescue, that can be used as a training tool for all emergency organisations throughout Victoria.
(9) That the WorkCover Safety Alert for Pile-hole Guards be periodically distributed throughout the construction industry and its recommendations enforced to try to ensure that such an incident does not re-occur.
(10) That MFESB give consideration to establishing a specialist Trench Rescue Unit.

Update: Josh Taylor passed away Thursday 7th December from his injuries.
Sand collapse today, Saturday 2 December 2023 in Queensland. QLD112 - A 25 year old man, Josh Taylor and his friends dug a 1.5 metre deep hole on the beach, he fell in head-first, and the sand came tumbling down on top of him. Once he was recovered from the hole CPR was administered and ROSC was achieved after ~45 minutes. See the video here: https://www.9news.com.au/national/man-fighting-for-life-after-falling-into-sand-hole-in-queensland/037acc08-b9bd-4294-bc89-d56e6d01103b