OSHA investigating Amazon Fulfillment Center fires

MADISON, Ala. (WAFF) - On Oct. 3, employees in the Amazon Fulfillment Center were evacuated after a fire broke out within the warehouse.

This was the second time the warehouse has had a fire reported in the past two weeks. The first was in late September.

Now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it will be investigating the fires.

According to an employee at the warehouse, the employees returned to work just six days after the original fire.

“Our plant caught on fire again. This time it was in the same area, but it was a couple aisles over,” the employee said. “We opened up Sunday again after being closed for almost a week. You could still smell smoke in there. Half the warehouse was off limits.”

The employees amongst others are starting to feel a sense of fear and distrust as they waited outside for answers and updates. It even gave the employees time to draft a theory as to what caused the fire.

“It’s just funny that last Monday our warehouse caught on fire in the same area,” the employee said. “I was told from other employees as we were sitting out there wondering what in the heck was going on they said boxes caught on fire. So they’re thinking maybe lithium batteries. And then a majority of us, we don’t feel safe, I mean, we think they sent us back to work too soon.”

Huntsville Fire & Rescue had multiple units on the scene and asked people to avoid the area.

At 10:25 p.m. on Monday employees were sent home to wait for the next steps. Last week when the fire broke out the employees were paid for the time out of the warehouse.

Huntsville Assistant Fire Marshal Trent Bennett says it is unclear where the fire broke out.

“I don’t have a specific area of where it’s starting at. The only thing that I could just tell you is that we just had a huge response to it,” Bennett said. “We had five engine trucks and two ladder trucks that responded. There were no injuries there...that’s all the info[rmation] I have at this time because it’s still under investigation.”

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