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City worker killed in manhole accident; 3 firefighters injured

Submitted photo Jabin Lakes

Activity surrounds a manhole cover on Yankee Road in Middletown Friday, May 7, 2010 where one city worker is dead and two firefighters were rendered unconscious from a unidentified fume coming from the manhole.

Staff photo by Gary Stelzer Activity surrounds a manhole cover on Yankee Road in Middletown Friday, May 7, 2010 where one city worker is dead and two firefighters were rendered unconscious from a unidentified fume coming from the manhole.

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Map of where the body of a city worker was removed from a manhole in Middletown

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Police and emergency crews on the scene of an accident that killed a Middletown city worker and injured two firefighters Friday, May 7, 2010.

Staff photo by Gary Stelzer Police and emergency crews on the scene of an accident that killed a Middletown city worker and injured two firefighters Friday, May 7, 2010.

Investigation will focus on fumes in Yankee Road manhole

By Marie Rossiter, Ryan Gauthier and Jessica Heffner, Staff Writers Updated 12:36 PM Saturday, May 8, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — Investigators are trying to unravel the mystery of how a routine check of a sanitary sewer line turned deadly Friday morning, May 7, when a city worker was killed and three firefighters were hospitalized after being overcome by unidentified fumes.

Jabin Lakes, a 31-year-old maintenance worker, was found dead at the bottom of a manhole in front of Air Products and Chemicals Inc. at 2500 Yankee Road. Lakes had opened the manhole around 8 a.m. to do some routine sewer line work when he apparently was overcome, police said.

Three Middletown firefighters who attempted to rescue Lakes from the hole also were overcome. Firefighters Todd Wissemeier, Thomas Allen and Bob Hess were transported to area hospitals. They were not wearing breathing apparatuses because they thought they were responding to a fall, said Middletown police Maj. Mark Hoffman.

Whether Lakes was killed by the fall or the fumes may not be known until Monday when an autopsy is performed by the Butler County Coroner’s Office.

Exactly what those fumes are remains a mystery, Hoffman said. Based on chemical tests conducted at the scene, the fumes may be nitrogen, a colorless, odorless gas, he said.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will conduct its own investigation, he said.

“Something is in there and it’s displacing the oxygen, pushing it out of the hole,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said the source of the fumes is unknown and that Air Products could not be ruled out. Art George, spokesman for the company, said they are cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

Hoffman said the fumes present no risk to the public because the most potent concentrations were detected two feet below the surface of the street.

City worker's death is the first on the job in 71 years

It should have been just another day on the job for Jabin Lakes, a maintenance work with the city of Middletown.

Instead, it was his last.

Lakes, 31, was killed Friday, May 7, when he fell into a manhole he was inspecting on Yankee Road after apparently being overcome by fumes. Lakes, described as a hard worker who was “in love with his family,” had been on the job barely a year.

His was the first death of a city employee on the job since 1939, according to city records. A police officer died in an on-the-job auto accident.

“You just don’t expect that,” Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan said, fighting back tears. “It should have been just another day on the job, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.”

Though he’d never met Lakes, Mulligan said Friday’s tragic events “hit really close to home.” He said his heart goes out to Lakes’ wife, Katrina, and two daughters, Tomasina, 12, and Darrell-Anne, 4.

David Rogers, Lakes’ brother-in-law, said the family has been taking his death hard.

“It was very much unexpected and very much unwanted,” he said.

Routine inspection turns deadly

According to reports, Lakes and two co-workers were doing routine sanitary sewer line work about 8 a.m. Friday outside Air Products and Chemicals Inc. at 2500 Yankee Road. When Lakes opened a manhole and leaned over to do a visual inspection of the sewer line, he apparently suddenly lost consciousness and fell into the hole, city officials said.

Middletown police and firefighters responded to the scene and attempted to rescue Lakes.

Capt. Todd Wissemeier, 44, was lowered into the hole by a rope and apparently was quickly overcome by the same fumes believed to have incapacitated Lakes. Fire Marshal Bob Hess, 47, and firefighter Thomas Allen, 46, who were standing outside the hole, also began experiencing respiratory difficulty, city officials said.

Hess and Wissemeier were saved by Middletown police Officer Chris Alfrey, who was holding onto Hess’ belt at the time, Middletown police Maj. Mark Hoffman said.

Hoffman said the firefighters were not wearing a breathing apparatus because they thought they were responding to a fall and knew nothing about air-quality problems.

Wissemeier, a 20-year fire department veteran, was flown by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital, where he remains in the intensive care unit.

Hess, a 19-year veteran, was listed in fair condition at Atrium Medical Center, where Allen was treated and released on Friday.

Fire Capt. Greg Justice praised the efforts of both Middletown crews and other local agencies in the rescue effort.

“They’re aggressive men. Very, very brave,” Justice said. “In more instances, they’ll take extraordinary measures to save somebody’s life.”

Mysterious fumes

Authorities are a still trying to determine exactly which type of gas caused Lakes and the firefighters to lose consciousness.

A chemist from AK Steel as well as Butler County’s hazardous materials team were brought in to test the air inside of the manhole estimated to be about 20 to 30 feet deep and 20 to 22 inches wide. Police cordoned off the area for several hours as a precaution while the threat level was being assessed.

Sensors placed in the manhole showed oxygen levels of less than 2 percent inside, Hoffman said. A normal level would be about 21 percent, he said.

“Something is in there and it’s displacing the oxygen, pushing it out of the hole,” Hoffman said. “The toxicity overcame someone outside of the manhole, which indicates whatever is in there is lighter than air or it’s under pressure and being forced out because of that.”

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