Spokane Plans to Appeal Fine for Accident at Power Plant

SPOKANE (AP) — The city of Spokane plans to appeal a $60,000 fine for alleged training and safety failures that led to two employees being burned at its Waste-to-Energy Plant last fall.

Last month, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries cited Spokane for 10 violations of state law that were discovered after Larry Pratt and Craig Law received severe steam burns in an incident on Oct. 4.

The Spokesman-Review says problems included failure to adequately outfit boiler workers and failing to hold regular training sessions on how to respond to an emergency inside the boiler.

Public Works Director Scott Simmons says workers did receive annual emergency training.

The two workers have since been released from the hospital.