Man critically injured at EMR scrapyard in Camden was ‘impaled’ by blowtorch

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A contractor who was critically injured while working at a site run by EMR in Camden last week was “impaled” by part of a blowtorch while disassembling an old crane for scrap metal, according to a Camden Fire Department incident report obtained by WHYY News through a public records request.

Around 11:30 p.m. on July 18, firefighters responded to a call “pertaining to a burn victim” at 1229 S. Front St., part of the industrial complex in Camden’s Waterfront South neighborhood run by the multinational scrap metal recycling company EMR. The incident occurred just days after a New Jersey Superior Court judge allowed EMR’s nearby metal shredder to reopen following a legal fight between the city and the company over the city’s move to shutter its operations due to concerns about fire safety.

EMR’s sites in Camden, which purchase, dissemble, shred and export scrap metal for remelting into steel, have come under increasing scrutiny from neighbors and public officials due to repeated fires. According to a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, there have been more than a dozen fires at EMR’s Camden sites since 2020, with the latest on May 29 at the company’s shredder facility causing city, county and state elected officials to call for it to be shut down.

Some of the blazes have sent hazardous levels of air pollution into the city’s Waterfront South neighborhood, where the majority of residents are Black or Hispanic, causing people to evacuate their homes. Some have reported experiencing acute health symptoms and lingering psychological impacts.

Firefighters find worker impaled by blowtorch handle

When Battalion Chief Ezequiel Tirado arrived on scene, a supervisor at EMR informed him that a subcontractor had been using a cutting torch to demolish an old crane for scrap metal, Tirado wrote in the incident report.

An ambulance was already on site, with an injured worker lying on a stretcher inside. He appeared to have a large oxy-acetylene blowtorch handle “impaled into his left biceps and into his torso,” Tirado wrote.

Fire and police officials found a “puddle of blood” near the crane the workers had been disassembling, according to Tirado.

A second worker sustained cuts to his face, Tirado wrote. This second worker acknowledged he was hurt but initially refused medical attention because he was an undocumented worker, Tirado wrote. The second worker later went to the hospital.

The worker with more severe injuries was in critical but stable condition last week. He was discharged from the hospital Tuesday, Cooper University Health Care spokesperson Wendy Marano said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the agency opened an investigation into an incident at the site involving a contractor, Guillon Welding, but declined to provide further details. The contractor could not be reached for comment.

Two days later, emergency services responded to another medical incident at an EMR site, this one involving an unconscious victim at 1251 S. Front St., just south of the first site, according to a second incident report obtained by WHYY News.

EMR did not respond to a request for comment.