I am all fired up!!! Hoppin’ mad. Furious. Pissed off!!!
I recently watched a CNN report about a highly decorated Green Beret, Staff Sgt Ryan Maseth who was electrocuted and died while serving in Iraq. This didn’t happen on the front line. This didn’t happen while he was engaging the enemy. This happened while he was……taking a shower in his room. Evidently this was not the first time. Another soldier died while washing his Humvee. Since 2003, there have been at least 12, if not more, soldiers who have died from “non combat related electrocutions”. Who knows how many civilian contractors have died as well. All due to inadequate or improper grounding. KBR has the maintenance contract on Ryan’s building and 100’s if not 1000’s of others.
As a licensed electrician who worked for KBR in Iraq for two years, I find this UNACCEPTABLE!!!! How did this happen? Let me give you my opinion from first hand experience.
1-I never heard about any electrocution deaths while I was there. Why not? So much for Safety First. Additional training and a heightened awareness may have prevented some of these deaths.
2-Electrical supervision is sorely lacking. My General Foreman/Supervisor was not even an electrician. Supervisor status is achieved by “being there the longest”. Consequently, Dan and I fought all the time. I got shocked several times due to improperly wired, improperly grounded devices. According to him, that was a direct reflection of MY capabilities. That’s the management style and mentality from one of KBR’s finest!
3-In order to pocket more cash, much of the work is done by subcontractors who hire third country nationals such as Turks, Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos. Most are not even electricians in their own countries let alone familiar with US codes. These subcontractors are usually overseen by an American who may or may not have any electrical experience. These subcontractors are also very good at hiding their mistakes.
4-KBR has taken to replacing Americans with third country nationals such as Bosnians. They can pay them significantly less and I suspect they are charging the government the same as they would for an American.
5-Not all the American electricians that KBR hires are qualified for this kind of work. No one checked my references or licenses. When I was hired, the posting stated a license was required. I see that is no longer the case. So…KBR….you get what you pay for.
There are SOME qualified conscientious electricians in Iraq. I find it hard to believe that any one of them would have walked away from any kind of electrocution hazard. Work order or no work order, they would have fixed it. The key words here are “QUALIFIED” and “CONSCIENTIOUS”.
I’ve gone round and round with KBR supervisors and the KBR safety department on safety issues. These were the standard responses:
1-If you don’t like it go home. (aka “Shut up or go home!”)
2-Don’t forget where you are. (aka “we’re in a war zone, what do you expect?”)
3-We aren’t in the States. (aka “OSHA doesn’t apply here.”)
My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones due to accidental electrical shock. As you can tell, I am just beside myself. In my opinion, these deaths were so avoidable.
Just a note to anyone who thinks they want to go to work overseas. OSHA does not have jurisdiction over US workers working for US Government contractors on US Government projects overseas. I find that interesting because that’s where the risk of death or injury is the highest. It is the contractors responsibility to provide a safe working environment. My experience is…..they will provide a safe working environment as long as it doesn’t cost much and doesn’t impact the schedule.
The family of Ryan Maseth has file suit against KBR for the wrongful death of their son. Is KBR at fault? I think so. What do you think?
Ms Sparky
Note: I am looking for other KBR electricians from Iraq who would like to aid in the investigation of these deaths by providing insights and information. It doesn’t matter where in Iraq you worked. You know how things were. Please email me by clicking on the Contact Us tab above.
The story of soldiers getting electricuted in the showers was 1st passed on to me from a columnist at my local newspaper. Why? Because I lost my son too and it was due to poor repair work by a US hired contractor. Stephen was on his second tour in Iraq and had gone to take a shower. He didn’t get shocked, rather he was scalded by hot water. Evidently the hot water tanks had never worked properly and had been repaired,but NO WARNING was posted to inform the soldiers. Stephen received 2nd and 3rd degree burns to arm, body, and upper thigh. Lucky for him some buddies heard him fall when he passed out and pulled him out of the shower. Nine months later we lost him to complications from the pain medication he was taking. (That’s a whole other story!!)
This happened in 2004 and 3 years later we still have no been able to get a copy of the incident report or any information from the Army about what happened. We also can’t prove that it was KBR fault about the repair job, but was told they were the company who did the work. Also told about them hiring out the jobs to sub-contractors, ie – Iraqui locals and cheap labor.
Ms Sparky’s Response:
I am so sorry. I beg you to contact the DoDIG. Please send me more information so we can pass it on.
This electrician information is very nice.In my point of view,experienced electricians will provide a safe working environment as long as it doesn’t cost much and doesn’t impact the schedule.