A 24-year-old Squamish man hired by Kiewit to work at the Plutonic Power Project in Toba Inlet died Sunday (Feb. 16) following a work-related accident. Sam Fitzpatrick was raised in Squamish and was hired as a rock scaler for Kiewit's Sea to Sky Project before being transferred to the Toba Inlet.
On Sunday (Feb. 22) at approximately 2:30 p.m., RCMP were notified of an industrial accident that occurred at the Plutonic Power worksite.
Constable Kerri Chard said initial reports received by police indicated Fitzpatrick had been killed while performing rock-scaling work at the remote location.
Investigators from the RCMP, the BC Coroner's Service and WorkSafeBC travelled to the location early the following day with assistance from the RCMP West Coast marine services.
"There's nothing conclusive yet over how it happened," said Kiewit spokesperson Kent Grisham, "but what we know is that Sam was a scaler, and that while he was working in an area near Toba Inlet on the Plutonic Power Project, he was struck in the head by a falling rock."
Unconfirmed reports state Fitzpatrick's brother was also at the Toba Inlet performing rock-scaling work at the time of the accident.
The company has faced a series of fatalities and injuries over the past year. On Oct. 25, 2008, a Cormorant search and rescue helicopter from 19 Wing Comox evacuated an injured construction worker employed by Kiewit. And on Nov. 16, 2008, six Kiewit workers - among them Squamish resident Jerry Burns - along with a pilot, died in an airplane crash.
"The Plutonic Power Project has really yet to recover from the plane crash," said Grisham. "And to have this happen no is of course particularly impactful on them."
Grisham added Kiewit has dispatched "as many resources as we can" to help the crew deal with grief and provide employee assistance.
"We all feel this very deeply anytime we have these kinds of incidents. They hit everybody throughout the entire Kiewit system," he said.
Grisham said Kiewit deploys corporate resources "as a matter of course" to help the family as well.
Fitzpatrick was unmarried and had no children. His family will hold a celebration of life at noon on Sunday (March 1) at the Sea to Sky Hotel.
