Parramatta worker dies almost three weeks after electric switch ignites floor cleaner at On Sunset restaurant
A 24-year-old man has died in hospital almost three weeks after he caught on fire cleaning the floor at On Sunset restaurant in Parramatta as SafeWork investigates.
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A man has died almost three weeks after he caught on fire cleaning the floor of a Parramatta restaurant.
The 24-year-old worker was cleaning floors at a Lebanese restaurant on River Road West called On Sunset about 9:50pm on June 21 when an electric switch ignited the cleaning product.
He sustained significant burns to around 30 per cent of his body after catching alight and was put into a coma.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
SafeWork NSW have been notified and are investigating the issue.
A day after the incident, a staff member told The Daily Telegraph of the moment she saw her co-worker catch on fire.
She said she saw her colleague take a cocktail order before the fire started.
“I just want the boy to be good,” she said at the time.
The man was cleaning the floor behind the bar when it’s believed that the cleaning product, which contained a flammable vapour, caught fire from an electrical issue with the dishwasher.
He was initially treated by NSW Ambulance crews, including a critical care doctor and a critical care paramedic from three road crews, on scene before being placed into an induced coma and transported to Concord Hospital.
About 150 residents living in apartments above the restaurant were required to evacuate that night along with 15 to 20 occupants of the venue.
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Superintendent Adam Dewberry said the fire triggered the building’s automatic sprinkler system, which managed to put out the flames, and caused the alarm to go off.
“Anything with an electric switch can ignite a vapour,” he said at the time of the incident.
“It’s unlucky but not uncommon. Make sure you’re using a cleaning product within its manufacturing specifications.”
A FRNSW spokesman from Parramatta fire brigade clarified on Wednesday morning that the man was burnt by flames from the explosion and then “cooled off by the sprinklers” before being put into an induced coma.
“It appears that inflammable liquid used to clean a floor which is not a standard practice will form part of their investigation,” they said.
A crime scene was established at the time of the incident due to the severity.
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Originally published as Parramatta worker dies almost three weeks after electric switch ignites floor cleaner at On Sunset restaurant
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