Roofing company employee dies after fall at Oak Gables on Aug. 17

The victim was Timothy Scott Porter II, 24, of North Wilkesboro, a 2010 graduate of North Wilkes High School.

O’Briant said Porter was employed by Joe Campbell Roofing Inc. of Wilkesboro and was working for the company on a roof in the Oak Gables subdivision along Country Club Road on Aug. 17 when he fell.

He said Porter was installing felt on the roof of a two-story house when he lost balance, attempted to jump but got his foot caught on a gutter and fell head first 22 to 25 feet to the ground.

Porter landed on a concrete sidewalk and suffered a fractured skull, pelvis and left wrist, said O’Briant.

The house were the fall occurred was on Northfield Drive in the south end of Oak Gables.

Emergency personnel were dispatched at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 17. Wilkes Emergency Medical Services and Moravian Falls, Broadway and Boomer fire department first responders were on the scene.

A Baptist AirCare helicopter flew Porter to Wake Forest Baptist.

O’Briant  said investigators from the Occupational, Safety and Health (OSH) Division of the DOL will look into the death to determine if OSH standards were violated.

He noted that such investigations can take four months to complete and can result in civil penalties and required corrective action.

Regarding the particular circumstances in Porter’s fall, he said, investigators will seek to determine if:

• fall protection was provided for employees working on roofs six or more feet above lower levels;

• guardrail systems included a top rail and mid rail;

• the employer developed a training program for workers who might be exposed to fall hazards;

• employees were trained on fall hazards;

• personal protective equipment included slip-resistant steek-toed work shoes, hard hat and personal fall arrest system;

• ladders used to access a roof were inspected for structural defects.

According to information O’Briant provided, falls from elevations were the cause of 10 out of 40 fatalities the DOL investigated between Oct. 1, 2013, and Sept. 30, 2014.