Fire cleanup contractor AshBritt in spotlight after worker’s death at Petaluma landfill

The death last week of a wildfire debris removal driver crushed by his truck at the Sonoma County landfill was the second time in the past month the government's main cleanup contractor, AshBritt Inc., has been in the spotlight.

The death Friday of Ezekiel Jackson Sumner Jr., 60, of Paradise, followed a contentious Nov. 30 Santa Rosa City Council meeting, where speakers accused AshBritt of recklessness while the company's chief executive officer defended the company's record.

Sumner, who worked for a subcontractor, was killed at the landfill near Petaluma after dropping off a load of rubble from the October fires. His truck, owned by RHC Equipment of Chico, rolled backward while he was attaching a trailer, pinning him under a wheel, emergency responders said.

Cal OSHA, the state's workplace safety regulator, is investigating.

During the City Council meeting last month speakers raised concerns workers were not wearing protective masks and that contaminated storm water could be allowed to flow into storm drains. No other concerns were voiced about the company's worker safety.

At that time, AshBritt was taking a lead role in clearing lots under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Chris Grabill of Santa Rosa, who sits on the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities and the Watershed Task Force.

Grabill and others said subcontractors for the Deerfield Beach, Florida-based AshBritt appeared to be “playing fast and loose” with environmental and workplace rules on a job site off Parker Hill Road in Santa Rosa.

“We had some rain a few days before and subcontractors for AshBritt weren't protecting the site with wattles,” Grabill said Monday. “They weren't managing their runoff the way they were supposed to.”

In response, Brittany Perkins, AshBritt's chief executive officer, stepped to the podium, saying the 25-year-old company was working safely and in full compliance with state laws. Perkins said AshBritt has been selected for other cleanup projects by the Army Corps, a process she described as the “gold standard” for government contractors.

“It's an honor to be here serving you at this difficult time,” Perkins told the council. “We take that with the utmost seriousness and respect in the community where we are working.”

Grabill said it appeared subcontractors were doing better since the meeting. He said it was clear the fatal accident at the landfill “wasn't something that could have been prevented with another contractor.”

“The more folks I talk to it seems like a tragic accident,” Grabill said.

Federal OSHA records show the company has been the subject of enforcement inspections five times in the past 10 years with no violations. The last inspection was in 2013 and involved solid waste collections in Toms River, New Jersey.

Further details on the inspections were not available.

Nancy Allen, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps, said the fatal accident will not alter the ongoing contract with AshBritt. She declined to say if the incident would be a factor in awarding a second bid to the firm.

The Army Corps is 30 percent completed with debris removal operations in Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties, with 564,163 tons of debris having been removed from the four counties.