OSHA opens investigation into fatal trench collapse in Buffalo Grove

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched an investigation into the death of an Elmwood Park man buried Monday night after a trench collapsed in front of a Buffalo Grove home.

Preliminary indications suggest the hole might have lacked adequate cave-in protections, an official with the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday.

Nikodem Zaremba, 27, was pronounced dead at 7:22 p.m. Monday, at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, where he was taken after rescuers pulled him from the hole. The Cook County medical examiner's office is scheduled to perform an autopsy today.

Scott Allen, a spokesman for the labor department, confirmed that OSHA is investigating the collapse.

Preliminary information indicates that Burr Ridge-based contractor Rooter Solutions Inc. was at the Aspen Drive home to perform sewer repair work, Allen said. The crew, which included the company's owner and two employees, had excavated a hole approximately 13 feet long, 9 feet wide and 8 feet deep.

"It appeared there was no cave-in protection at the site while they were performing the work," according to OSHA, he said.

OSHA's requirements for cave-in protection vary, depending on the depth of the trench, Allen said. Precautions could include a steel box that would prevent dirt from falling back into the hole. That was not present at the site, he said.

OSHA's next steps will include interviews with witnesses and employees to try to determine whether the agency's standards were followed. By law, OSHA has six months to complete the investigation.

Buffalo Grove officials say firefighters responded at 5:29 p.m. to a report of a person trapped in a hole in the front yard of a residence in the 1000 block of Aspen Drive. While units were on the way, it was reported that the person, later identified as Zaremba, was buried and not breathing.

Crews were able to pull Zaremba from the hole at 6:35 p.m., and he was taken to Northwest Community Hospital.

A person who answered the phone Tuesday at Rooter Solutions said "Not now. Not now. Not now."

According to the Illinois Secretary of State's office, the business was incorporated on Aug. 15 and is in good standing.

ABC 7 Chicago reported that Zaremba's fiance, Nicole Kovodha, said he was a plumber who co-owned Rooter Solutions. She said he was working with his co-worker and stepfather Monday.