UPDATED: OSHA Fines Marlborough Company $20,000 In Connection With Framingham Library Electrical Explosion

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing about $20,000 in fines to a Marlborough electrical company, after it failed to cut power before starting electrical work at the main Framingham Library.

OSHA, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, cited Guardian Energy Management Solution Inc. of Marlborough with four serious violations after an electrical explosion at the main Framingham Library on Saturday, Oct. 17, before the library opened.

Framingham Patch was he first news outlet to report on the fire.

The main Framingham Library has been closed since that day and the earliest it may re-open is after Memorial Day. Repairs to the main Framingham Library will be in excess of $2 million. Insurance is expected to cover the repairs.

A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about, which the employer knew or should have known, said OSHA Spokesperson Ted Fitzgerald in an email to Patch.

The OSHA citation total $20,300.

The citation state the company failed to:

• Train each electrician to recognize the hazards of energized electrical equipment and to use safe electrical work practices
• Provide electricians with appropriate personal protective equipment
• De-energize or ground electrical circuits
• Determine before starting work that there were energized electrical circuits.
• Notify OSHA within 24 hours of the injured worker’s in-patient hospitalization

The citations were issued March 1 and received by the company on March 3.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

As of this noon today, the company has not yet contacted OSHA.