Contractors at site where 2 died in crane accident had history of violations

Four of the companies working at the site of the new Whippany Fire Department building — where two people died in a crane accident Thursday — had been cited for a series of serious violations over the last seven years, records show.

Hanover Mayor Ronald Francioli said a strap on a crane lowering a generator at the under-construction firehouse snapped Thursday morning.

Morris County prosecutor's office Executive Captain Richard Rose said one man died at the scene, and a second died later at a hospital. The mayor said one man suffered a collapsed lung, a broken rib cage and leg injuries.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the violations are:

• Precision Building and Construction LLC of Phillipsburg, the general contractor onsite, paid a fines totaling $2,100 for two fall incidents including one from an unspecified height.
• City Erectors of Paterson, the company that provided the crane and the crane operator onsite, was fined $450 for a struck-by-object violation in 2009.
• Boz Electric of Hackensack, the company that employed the second fatal victim of Thursday's incident, was cited twice in 2013 for wiring design and protection violations and paid fines of $6,500.
• Industrial Process & Equipment Inc of Sussex, the company that the first victim worked for, was fined $2,100 for endangering employees.

OSHA would not offer additional information on the incident as the investigation is ongoing.

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office, which is also involved in the investigation., said it does not have additional information about the incident.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.