4th Death of 2010

Article courtesy of WirelessEstimator.com

New Jersey man dies in West Philadelphia accident

June 28, 2010 - Stanley J. Zarzecki, Sr. passed away Thursday evening after falling from a rooftop in West Philadelphia.

He is survived by his wife Cara (nee Voll),  two sons Stanley J., Jr. and Zachery Xaiver; his mother Diane of Phila. and a brother Eric of Phila.
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UPDATED: July 12, 2010 - An industry manager knowledgeable of the accident, stated that the initial police report indicating that Zarzecki tripped on gravel and fell off the roof was incorrect.
He stated that Zarzecki fell off of the Sprint/Nextel equipment platform and over the side of the short parapet wall.
In addition, although construction drawings do not show a railing around the 11-foot by 22-foot platform, there was a railing around it when he fell, he said.

UPDATED June 28, 2010 - A technician working on the roof at the Walnut Park Plaza in West Philadelphia fell 120 feet to his death Thursday evening.

Philadelphia police say Champion Communications employee Stanley Zarzecki, 32, of Deptford, N.J. was working on transmission lines on the roof of a nine-story building at 6250 Walnut Street at about 9 p.m. when he reportedly slipped on the gravel roof.

Authorities say Zarzecki hit the edge of the roof and fell to his death.

He was pronounced dead at about 10:15 p.m.

Zarecki was reportedly working on a Clearwire project.

Clearwire, which is majority owned by Sprint/Nextel, oftentimes colocates their equipment on existing Sprint sites.

Sprint/Nextel has an 11-foot by 22-foot equipment platform on the Walnut Park Plaza rooftop approximately three feet from the parapet wall which is one-foot or less in height. It reportedly does not have any guardrails.

Other wireless tenants on the rooftop include AT&T and T-Mobile.

Authorities have not released where Zarzecki was working when he fell.

According to OSHA Standard 1926.501(b)(1) regarding unprotected sides and edges, "Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems."

After learning of the accident a number of companies held a conference call with their project managers to emphasize the need to be vigilant in their josbsite safety compliance.

Owned by Robert Kelhower, Champion Communications LLC is located in Westville, N.J.