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Amazon Warehouse Collapse in Baltimore Leaves Two Dead (engadget.com)

An anonymous reader quotes Engadget: Amazon is grappling with tragedy at one of its warehouses this weekend. A 50-foot wall at the company's southeast Baltimore fulfillment center collapsed on the night of November 2nd in the midst of a large storm, killing two people. They worked for an external company, an Amazon official told the Baltimore Sun... The storm was a particularly violent one that had torn roofs off apartment buildings and collapsed a ceiling at a TJ Maxx store, injuring three people. Amazon was caught up in extreme weather that unfortunately led to fatalities.

135 comments

  1. Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...so the supervisor placed an Amazon Prime order and a robot brought a couple of them and some cleaning supplies.

    1. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Chewbacon · · Score: 4, Funny

      This AC is telling the truth: https://www.amazon.com/two-4-f...

      --
      Chewbacon
      The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
    2. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Funny

      My x- wife bought one of these. Should I be concerned?

      Great value and great for hauling dead bodies. No more bloody mess either. Leaving no trace of any corpse in your trunk!

      Priceless.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    3. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by rmdingler · · Score: 1

      Damn. Clicking on this link is worse than Goatse, as it likely affects your permanent record, internet-wise, with the TLAs.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    4. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reviews?

    5. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by sentiblue · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Two persons tragically killed at work... are you people actually joking about this?

    6. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is what Republicans do, celebrate the misfortunes of others.

    7. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you sad they're not democrats celebrating killing kids?

      Or defending pedos?

      Or criminals?

      Or illegals?

    8. Re: Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. It's normal, get over yourself.

    9. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm a democrat, and we should set up a small Government Agency to make sure this never happens again. Should only cost $1 trillion a year to make sure that freak accidents like this that happen once every decade never happen again. Just raise everyone's taxes by $1,300 per year should cover that easily. Or are you insensitive?

    10. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (Different AC) Yep, I guess so. Some people think a snarky line beats everything. Also because the current TV/News atmosphere is so conductive to happy stories.

        I'm sad for them, but read about the Monkey Sphere. I'm sorry for their loss and think Amazon needs to double-check (but not necessarily change!) the policy.

    11. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a republican, I say good, kill off those low wagre takers and free up more spots for illegals we don't have to worry about taking care of. Illegal labor is great for us big business types. It lets us abuse even citizens, for fer of being replace by those disposable non humans. And the best part? We can use the illegals to get the dumb whites to vote for our tax cuts to "create jobs" hahahaha!

      Or maybe I'm not a Republican and you aren't a democrat, and we are both just being trolls. Only one of us is being even a little honest though. And it ain't you.

      Too bad people bothered by trolls can't vote and make a real difference. Let's keep telling them their vote is wasted.

      Although, if voting is so unimportant, why are literally billions of dollars are spent trying to get people to vote one way or another?

    12. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by bobstreo · · Score: 1

      My x- wife bought one of these. Should I be concerned?

      Great value and great for hauling dead bodies. No more bloody mess either. Leaving no trace of any corpse in your trunk!

      People who bought this, also bought:

      Duck Tape

      Plastic sheeting

      Heavy Duty Gloves

      55 Gallon Containers of Bleach

      Bungee Cords

      Rope

      Bowie Knives /s

    13. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

      My x- wife bought one of these. Should I be concerned?

      Great value and great for hauling dead bodies. No more bloody mess either. Leaving no trace of any corpse in your trunk!

      People who bought this, also bought:
      Duck Tape
      ...snipsnip...

      Hydrofluoric acid. Or maybe not.

      --
      The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
    14. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Two persons tragically killed at work... are you people actually joking about this?

      Roughly 150,000 people die every day. Unless you know these two people, there is nothing special about them.

      Why should you care about them any more or less than the other 149,998 people?

    15. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Out of those 150,000 odd people, a good chunk of them are dying early over weird/stupid accidents. Why wouldn't you care?

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    16. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by bobstreo · · Score: 1

      Duck Tape is actually a brand name :

      https://www.duckbrand.com/

      Bags of lime may also be safer and less expensive (if you have Prime for shipping)

    17. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I do! I hold a 0.2 seconds rememberence for each one.

    18. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hydrofluoric acid and a big plastic tub that Walter picked out, not Jesse.

    19. Re: Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, it is newsworthy since Amazon is on the COSHA "Dirty Dozen" list of most dangerous employers to work for. Also for pathalogically avoiding any and all responsibility and compassion for its workers' ill health. Note that Amazon's knee jerk response was to highlight that the two people killed in its building were subcontractors. Building was more than likely built by the lowest bidder, which then cut corners.

    20. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Megol · · Score: 1

      Yes? Joking about a situation even if oneself is closely involved is a way for humans to feel better.
      Note that this is actually more of a joke about Amazon rather than the deaths themselves. Not caring about the workers, efficiency über alles etc.

    21. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 1

      Dark humor is a coping mechanism. Get off your high horse.

    22. Re: Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      Just missing a few critical items...

    23. Re: Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're nerds. We hate everybody because we have been bullied, harassed, humiliated and ostracized all our lives. I hope those two suffered. I cheer every single time I read there has been a car accident with fatalities. I hope some of them would be the SOB jocks who tormented me.

    24. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 0

      Yeah, well they were working class. What we in America call "deplorables". Yes, when they die it is funny. Deal with it. These are the people who gave us the nightmare called Trump. Humor is how we deal with creeping fascism that threatens the whole world.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    25. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      +1000 funny!

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    26. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      You're right. It's inevitable that people will joke about tragedy eventually, but it's way too soon.

      That being said, I lost it when I read the "People who bought this, also bought" comment above. Mea culpa.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    27. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Duck Tape is actually a brand name :

      https://www.duckbrand.com/

      Yes, and it has nothing to do with ducts. It got its name from what it was made from originally: cotton duck cloth. The adhesive version of the tape was invented in the 1940s to seal ammunition boxes so they could be opened quickly in battle.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    28. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by sentiblue · · Score: 0

      I guess you don't understand where I come from when I asked the above question. But then again... I'm an educated person, my concern for others is different.

      No I don't know those two persons... nor any of the 150K people you claim die everyday... I won't pretend that I'm sad about their deaths... but I will certainly not be joking about it. I do care about people's existence in this country because their tax dollars make this country great. That's where you're wrong. Plus, your name is Shanghai... why would you give a damn about anything in this country?

    29. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

      Dark humor is a coping mechanism. Get off your high horse.

      Note: Riding a horse while its high (and/or during water polo) is very dangerous.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    30. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Although, if voting is so unimportant, why are literally billions of dollars are spent trying to get people to vote one way or another?

      I think you answered your own rhetorical question, but to carry the thought further...

      Billions of dollars are spent to get people to vote a certain way because it is worth those billions of dollars for some people to have their gal or guy in office.

      And thus we have the Golden Rule: [s]he who has the gold, makes the rules.

      Campaign finance reform has tried to address the issue by limiting individual contributions and making donors' names public. But Dark Money and PACs are not encumbered so. Time to do something about them too.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    31. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Drishmung · · Score: 1
      Just need the right chemical: ClF3

      It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water-with which it reacts explosively.

      or FOOF

      "Satan's kimchi"

      [the]Hangzhou Sage Chemical Company. They offer it in 100g, 500g, and 1 kilo amounts, which is interesting, because I don’t think a kilo of dioxygen difluoride has ever existed. Someone should call them on this – ask for the free shipping, and if they object, tell them Amazon offers it on this item. Serves 'em right. Morons"

      --
      Protoplasm. Quiet Protoplasm. I like quiet protoplasm.
    32. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      You can bet those two people were killed by the lowest tender for that wall and short cuts would have had to be taken. Unless the weather can be proven to be extreme beyond required by law design considerations, man slaughter charges should be investigated against Amazon, the Builder and the Engineers. Yeah, some greedy shit killed those two workers, end of story.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    33. Re:Luckily Amazon sells body bags... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dark humor is like food; not everyone gets it.

  2. Why is it relevant? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

    The summary makes a big point that they were contractors (working for a 3rd party) and not Amazon employees. Why does that matter?

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
    1. Re: Why is it relevant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why is it news at all? Because it is about amazon? Yawn...

    2. Re:Why is it relevant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The value of your life depends on the quality of employment you were able to attain. Didn't you know?

    3. Re:Why is it relevant? by jtara · · Score: 2

      The summary makes a big point that they were contractors (working for a 3rd party) and not Amazon employees. Why does that matter?

      Worker's Compensation. Or lack thereof.

    4. Re:Why is it relevant? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Re "Why does that matter?"
      Walls have engineers that did complex calculations.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    5. Re:Why is it relevant? by Iamthecheese · · Score: 1, Troll

      Amazon likes to use temp agencies to make it look like they're treating people better. "third party" employees can be underpaid, treated like shit, and so forth without it impacting the numbers.

      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    6. Re:Why is it relevant? by SeaFox · · Score: 2

      The summary makes a big point that they were contractors (working for a 3rd party) and not Amazon employees. Why does that matter?

      People injured in the event and next-of-kin for the fatalities can't sue Amazon over this, because they aren't technically employed by Amazon, they work for a much much smaller company that can declare bankruptcy at the drop of a hat.

    7. Re:Why is it relevant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit.
      The families of the people that died can sue anyone directly or indirectly involved in the tragedy. It's up to the court to decide who's liable and to what degree.

    8. Re:Why is it relevant? by SeaFox · · Score: 2

      Bullshit.
      The families of the people that died can sue anyone directly or indirectly involved in the tragedy. It's up to the court to decide who's liable and to what degree.

      Yeah, but Amazon has better lawyers than those families will, and with no direct link between the victims and Amazon you're naive if you think this is going to go anywhere close to them. Most likely the actual (sub-contractor) employer, and the structure's insuring company. And this was a damaging storm that effected other buildings in the area, so the insurance company is just handling it as their normal "Act of God" procedure. The real issue is more likely to be if the contractor took steps to ensure employee safety during the storm. Were they evacuated to storm shelters, or told to just work through the event?

    9. Re: Why is it relevant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No direct link? The people were in an Amazon warehouse, that's as direct as it gets. If they were pedestrians walking by outside and got crushed by the collapsing warehouse, you think they wouldn't sue?

    10. Re:Why is it relevant? by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Many American companies have outsourced abusive labor practices to China, etc. That hasn't insulated them from criticism.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    11. Re:Why is it relevant? by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      You can sue anybody for anything. Whether you get a day in court and win ... that's another issue. But you can still sue.

      The families of the people who died can sue Amazon because it's Amazon's warehouse. I don't know whether Amazon owns the building (maybe they're renting it) but that doesn't mean they are immune to a lawsuit. Amazon has a presence at the site of the accident, so it's not a stretch to sue them.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    12. Re: Why is it relevant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No direct link? The people were in an Amazon warehouse, that's as direct as it gets.

      > Implying Amazon actually owns this warehouse

      top kek

    13. Re:Why is it relevant? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      I don't know whether Amazon owns the building (maybe they're renting it) but that doesn't mean they are immune to a lawsuit. Amazon has a presence at the site of the accident, so it's not a stretch to sue them.

      Have you ever worked in a factory or warehouse? I have. And there was more than one company having work done within it. I was not an employee of any of these companies. The work was being carried out by the contractor. But I was not an employee of the contractor either. I was hired by a temp agency whose office was literally at the front door of the factory. Their office was inside the building but the office and I'm pretty sure the surrounding building were not owned by any of the companies I've mentioned so far.

      I worked for them twice. The second time, I got laid off soon after starting due to issues with business (nothing in my control/fault). I tried to apply for unemployment and the contractor told the state I was fired for attendance issues to get me denied. Obviously untrue. I got that overturned by referring the state to the temp agency, who was on my side. See, since the contractor was not my employer they had no authority to speak about my work performance or otherwise fuck with my unemployment benefits.

      When work is done by a contractor, the people who hired them are not in direct control of operations. If things are mishandled or done poorly, the most the hiring company can do is get them for breach of contract terms. It's the same here. Amazon can't be held responsible for some mishap at a factory they do not own or operate (the contractor is the one operating the warehouse, Amazon is simply a client).

    14. Re:Why is it relevant? by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Contract law != tort law.

      I repeat: you can sue anyone for anything. A contract may be a factor in the case, but it doesn't have to be the only one.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    15. Re:Why is it relevant? by thomn8r · · Score: 1
      That hasn't insulated them from criticism.

      It has insulated them a lot more than you think; you only hear about the huge instances, like Foxconn.

  3. Well shit. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well that's the last time I order a "like new" warehouse support beam. ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:Well shit. by rmdingler · · Score: 0
      Heh heh.

      Like new,

      much akin to virtually new... which means not precisely new, with an apparently reasonably explanation as to the change in conditions.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

  4. “Oh shit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope they weren’t in the middle of grabbing something to ship off to ME...” thought roughly half of Amazon’s customers in response to hearing about this.

    Because, you know, if Amazon customers gave a fuck about anyone but themselves they likely would not BE Amazon.com customers... not saying... just saying.

    1. Re:“Oh shit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this

    2. Re:“Oh shit... by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      Don't worry - it'll be completely automated within a decade and you won't have to/get to feel smugly superior to these hard-working folks who are doing tough jobs you feel are beneath them, even though they took the job voluntarily.

      But I'm sure you're busy creating jobs when you're not criticizing employers and employees as a /. AC. /s

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    3. Re:“Oh shit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'll just add these 2 to my "killed by capitalism" list.
      +2
      There we go. This doesn't look good at all to be honest, added to all those killed by american imperialist capitalism, and soviet capitalism.

      We should really get around to killing all the "job creators" one of these days.

    4. Re:“Oh shit... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The examples in the link below also adhered to a socialist system;

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_killings_under_communist_regimes

      If you can only add 2 to the capitalism death toll, I'll stick with capitalism, thanks!

    5. Re: “Oh shit... by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      I checked and my shipments are all still on schedule, so crisis averted!

    6. Re:“Oh shit... by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      soviet capitalism

      Oxymoron.

      I'm not saying the soviet system didn't result in misery and death. Just not because of capitalism.

      And I don't give capitalism a complete pass either. Slavery, the Great Depression, wars ... they're all linked to capitalism.

      I found this article interesting:

      https://eand.co/if-communism-k...

      TL/DR: any ideology can be a weapon of mass destruction.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  5. Last Amazon fatality near me.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It seemed sad. Dude was a holiday temp tryna make some loot for Christmas. Fell into some kind of machine and got squished. Sad. But it turned out he was blazed out of his gourd on drugs. Amazon wasn't at fault.

    1. Re:Last Amazon fatality near me.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jeff Bezos was seen leaving a back door with an empty syringe.

  6. They shouldn't have been there. by Mal-2 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I don't mean this was the fault of the workers. Quite the contrary. If conditions outside are such that it's barely safe for emergency crews, then an employer who is not involved directly in health and safety has no business calling its employees in to work. Now two people are dead because the warehouse couldn't deal with hunkering down for a storm.

    I could see keeping a Wal-Mart open under such conditions. People may need things desperately, and people might need a place to shelter if things get really bad. But there is nothing that warehouse could do to help the situation right that moment, and it should have been left to a skeleton crew of security guards who can hunker down wherever they feel safe -- NOT try to work through the storm.

    --
    How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
    1. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by starblazer · · Score: 1

      we have numbers to meet! bonuses to make! it's just a little thunderstorm, don't worry about it, i'll PROMISE to tell you when it gets bad! now get back out there or i'll find someone else that wants to work!

    2. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Statistically, it is safer to stay in a building than to try to drive home in a storm. Amazon made the correct call to keep people at work. They had no reason to believe that the wall was going to collapse.

    3. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Mal-2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If the storm kicked up after the people were already there, then those people should have been pulled into the most reinforced areas of the building (typically the office) until it passed, because walls do collapse. This is not an unforeseeable event. Get the people away from the most hazardous conditions and ride it out. Don't just keep working.

      I suppose you'd argue against evacuating the entire building when there's a fire, too. Only move the people that will be in the way of the fire department. No. Overreaction for the sake of caution is tolerable when the events are infrequent enough.

      --
      How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
    4. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those were contractors. Amazon had no direct authority over where they would go or what they would do in the event of a storm, unless the contract specifically gave them that authority. The most Amazon could do is offer them shelter. We don't know what the contract workers' bosses told them to do during the storm.

      I remember from my brief time working at an Amazon FC that they do have designated storm safety areas, bathrooms being some of them (but not all). I don't think any of them were located near the exterior of the warehouse.

    5. Re: They shouldn't have been there. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a tornado that hit the building : https://www.wbaltv.com/article/nws-tornado-caused-storm-damage-in-southeast-baltimore-dundalk/24604575

    6. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong.

      Few things really need to be said.

      1: Who goes out into a Category 1\2 tornado for "critical supplies"?

      2: Of any kind of building to have a wall failure, I think I would prefer being in a warehouse only to a high-rise building. A Warehouse is effectively, due to the shelving, a series of Domino's ready to go at any point in time. Look at youtube for warehouse shelving failures. They are horrific. Part of the zoning for a warehouse is to ensure shelving and support structures meet building codes; e.g. a shelving collapse won't cause the whole building to cave in or vice versa.

      3: That means when there's a storm, you have to be terminally stupid to continue working because you aren't just putting 2 people at risk. You're putting everyone at risk, plus equipment. Your arrangement with a 3rd party contracting company to provide the specialization of f'ing your staff over for you is not going to hold up in court when a judge and jury are looking for someone to hang, and that is if someone doesn't decide to exact justice on their own terms. There's a Tornado outside, everyone is going to the shelter area. Every building has Tornado Shelter and Fire exit signs everywhere.

      4: The most likely situation is you had a couple of security guards or managers sweeping the place to make sure everyone was in the shelter area, e.g. Bud with headphones on jamming out while picking and packing isn't still working when the overhead speakers said go to the shelter area. Or there were a couple of truck drivers who came in and didn't know where to go and were looking for shelter. Local papers have pictures up, its a big, labrynthy maze of a warehouse.

      Finally, The last thing Amazon should be doing is acting pompous and detached by issuing statements like "It was a contractor". If you don't know, you don't know. You should be issuing statements like "We don't know but are deeply sorry for the families of the staff affected. We are currently investingating the issue with the building contractor" and yadda, so on and so forth.

    7. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Statistics and facts don't matter. It is all Trump's fault. I'm sure CNN/MSNBC will back me up on that.

    8. Re: They shouldn't have been there. by Pinky's+Brain · · Score: 1

      That was on the other side of Baltimore.

    9. Re: They shouldn't have been there. by Pinky's+Brain · · Score: 1

      Oops nevermind, I can't read.

    10. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Obviously you have never had a shitty low level job before. They want you there rain or shine and there are penalties for absenteeism - in the database there are no fields for excuses. Miss work and you get written up and miss it again and you get fired. You've got to save those write-ups for the critical times, like when you're sick or your kid has a school concert. Can't waste them on a silly storm which will pass in an hour anyway.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    11. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by luther349 · · Score: 1

      everything you said makes no sense. i lost iq points even reading that.

    12. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I could see keeping a Wal-Mart open under such conditions. People may need things desperately

      I'm an Amazon Prime member you insensitive clod.

    13. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by luther349 · · Score: 1

      i would assume they did move people when things got crazy.

    14. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by luther349 · · Score: 1

      i dont think people kept working when things got crazy. it also was not the employee inside the place but some contractors.

    15. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by luther349 · · Score: 1

      guards have radios or smart phones. they would have known to come inside. same for truckers. but truckers tend to drive threw tornadoes..

    16. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by luther349 · · Score: 3

      yep they use that sorry ass point system i worked there. they dont give a shit use up all your points your gone. theirs a line of thousands waiting to replace you. in all my years i only seen my job close to weather one time. we had a freak snow storm that dropped 4 ft of snow overnight nobody was going anywhere. but you sure as hell better be ready/dug out the next day.

    17. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by tlhIngan · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If the storm kicked up after the people were already there, then those people should have been pulled into the most reinforced areas of the building (typically the office) until it passed, because walls do collapse. This is not an unforeseeable event. Get the people away from the most hazardous conditions and ride it out. Don't just keep working.

      I suppose you'd argue against evacuating the entire building when there's a fire, too. Only move the people that will be in the way of the fire department. No. Overreaction for the sake of caution is tolerable when the events are infrequent enough.

      It depends on the storm. We've had bad storms, and if you stopped working every time a storm warning comes out, you might as well take the rest of the year off.

      So perhaps it was a bad storm, but as far as anyone was concerned, par for the course during the stormy season. Of course, storms can kick up some wickedly local phenomena - microbursts for example that are difficult to predict, extremely local and can be damaging.

      It can be a matter of just bad luck - it looks like a seasonal storm and everyone goes about their business, but then something wicked gets whipped up and a wall collapses as misfortune.

      Of course, I wasn't there, but that's what I think when we got storm warnings - all it means is to be more careful when outside because winds might be strong and rain might be driving.

      And of course, the wall could be defective, too - perhaps it was made incorrectly, or poorly maintained or something else that made it collapse prematurely.

    18. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Gimric · · Score: 1

      If there was advance notice of the storm, they made a business decision to have people come in to work. In this case it cost two workers their lives.

    19. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 2

      Maryland isn't Tornado Alley. Marylanders don't commonly endure the types of storms that require occupants to retreat to a hardened safe area like the Great Plains does, or the Gulf states during hurricane season.

    20. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a fucking line of thunderstorms, not a hurricane. That shit can blow up out of nowhere. You simply just do not shut down the world because there might be thunderstorms that day. There was forecasts of thunderstorms for the day, there was an unseasonably warm airmass ahead of a pretty strong frontal system. But you don't close down your business because of it.

    21. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Living in the area, I don't believe anyone here thought it was that bad of a storm. Are you suggesting everyone be sent home whenever a thunderstorm is predicted to possibly pop up? I'll guess either there was some structural issue, or they had that wall loaded with way more weight than it could support.

    22. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

      One other issue with this generation of warehouses— the unbraced height of the walls is 50’ so over-designing beyond code requirements gets very expensive.

    23. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      I see how these places are built. When they built the fanatics warehouse next to amazon here in Las Vegas, a large pipe rack fell due to negligence of the Electrical Contractor to support it correctly. It had passed an inspection funny enough. The company I work for only happened to be there to install the wireless system(300+ powerful AP's) Never trust the construction of a building in extreme storms, get near elevator shafts and stair wells. They are built the strongest.

      For the people that already don't know not IN the elevator, but near it around the side if possible or back so you don't have to worry about the door blowing off.

    24. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Port1080 · · Score: 2

      I was out in Baltimore city that night doing some bar hopping, less than six miles from where this tornado hit, and there was NO indication that the storm was anywhere near this bad. We had some rain and minor wind, and that was it. It was a hyper localized freak thing that came up without warning. Unless you're going to send people home every time there's a minor thunderstorm (which is what this was in about 99% of the Baltimore area), this wasn't something that was really preventable.

      --
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    25. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For what it's worth, I saw the building being built each day I drove past it on my way to work. The building was brand new in the past 1-2 years and it seems safe. Not a structural engineer though so I can't fully comment on that. That said, the storm came up very quickly in the area (I live about 2 miles away) and there were no warnings of dangerous storms or anything out of the ordinary, including no tornado watches or warnings. Initially after the fact, they thought it was a microburst only later to confirm it was indeed a tornado that touched down at the Amazon sorting center and then about a mile away at apartments.

    26. Re:They shouldn't have been there. by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      "I suppose you'd argue against evacuating the entire building when there's a fire, too. "

      Turns out, in multi-story buildings this is exactly what happens. "In a typical scenario, the occupants of the fire floor and the floors immediately above and below it should immediately use the exit stairs" https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Ed...

  7. A TJ Maxx was destroyed! by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

    How will we live without it??

    1. Re:A TJ Maxx was destroyed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is a life without TJ Maxx really worth living?

    2. Re:A TJ Maxx was destroyed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not if you are a true fashionista..

  8. George of the jungle! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Watch out for that roof!

  9. Who here saw the headline and thought... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who here saw the headline and thought it was some substandard working conditions, and weren't the least bit surprised cause that would totally fit for Amazon?

    I was actually more surprised it was due to weather.

  10. This. by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Companies hire contractors specifically for cases like this. It's why it's cheaper to hire a contractor even when you're paying a contractor agency for the privilege. The lack of these kinds of benefits is why workers needed Unions. If the employees had families they're probably not only grieving but trying to figure out what they're gonna do with one less breadwinner. A worker's comp payout would at least delay that, maybe long enough to figure out what to do next.

    --
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    1. Re:This. by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Contractors don't have to be covered by compo there?

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    2. Re:This. by eneville · · Score: 1

      Covered by what? This is a matter of small-print in the contract. The writing was on the wall.

    3. Re:This. by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Government run workers compensation. Workers, including contractors have to be covered here. Self employed have to cover themselves.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    4. Re:This. by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      Covered by what? This is a matter of small-print in the contract. The writing was on the wall.

      I saw what you did there. Not sure whether it helps or not.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
  11. Re: Mueller will see you now. by Orange+Man+Bad · · Score: 0

    Orange Man Bad!!!!

  12. Re: Mueller will see you now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good God, I bet you're fun at parties. Well, Democratic SJW ones from what I understand, anyway.

    Hopefully you're just a troll; I'd hate to think that someone actually believes that. Keep working at growing up, you can still make it someday.

  13. They should have been secure. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Agreed. That was what our warehouse did in situations like that, especially since we're in Tornado alley.

  14. engineers know when buildings will collapse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    thats the whole point of building codes, knowing what level of storm a building can survive.

  15. Does this mean my package will be late? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That really sucks. Amazon delivery keeps getting suckier with every passing month. This is just par for the course.

  16. less crazy than some of his other shit, true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Has Trump publicly lied about it 5 times in a row on tape yet? NO? Then... gee, he probably hasn't heard about it yet, one must assume. I wouldn't be surprised if some unrelated minority gets blamed by him, sure. Ethiopians?

    It would be less crazy than some of his other shit, let's be real.. dumbest traitor ever.

    1. Re:less crazy than some of his other shit, true by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      Too bad ignorant people like you aren't a minority.

  17. Working during a severe storm that tears roofs off by Pezbian · · Score: 1

    Amazon: "Thoughts and prayers"

    Well that makes it all better then. Nothing to see here, folks. Case closed.

    --
    In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
  18. Re:Working during a severe storm that tears roofs by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    Who said they were working?

  19. Re:Working during a severe storm that tears roofs by luther349 · · Score: 1

    every job i worked never quit over weather. unless its a tornado.

  20. Outlaw warehouses! Think of the children! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The usual knee-jerk reaction to prevent future warehouse wall collapses would be to outlaw warehouses and emotionally double-down by getting people to believe it's to save the lives of children. Works every time.

  21. Baltimore has the highest murder rate of US cities by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 3, Informative
    https://www.usatoday.com/story...

    It has way more important problems than some freak accident that is highly unlikely to happen again.

  22. Just more goverment incompitence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See how useless building codes are? So many tax dollars violently stolen from amazon and still 2 more people now dead, all by goverment incompitence.

    1. Re:Just more goverment incompitence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clearly there was a bit of incompetence in the educational system too, since you can't manage to spell incompetence correctly.

      Did you know that most computers have this wonderful thing called spell check?

    2. Re: Just more goverment incompitence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, that fucking stupid thing i disable on any device that has it. im merkin, dont tell ME how to spell.

  23. Re:Baltimore has the highest murder rate of US cit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    https://www.usatoday.com/story...

    It has way more important problems than some freak accident that is highly unlikely to happen again.

    Problem solving steps.
    1. Define the problem correctly. This is important, since you need a solution that does more than reduce one narrow case of gun crimes.

    2. Take no possible solutions off the table initially. Republicans, for instance, automatically take any solution off the table limiting gun availability.

    3. Find the solution or combination of solutions that best mitigate the problem for least cost. Republicans often say, well that wouldn't work in this case, completely missing the point, or, far more likely, deliberately pretending they are too stupid to see the bigger picture. Solve the right problem, which is getting the most reduction in gun deaths period.

  24. Re:Working during a severe storm that tears roofs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It was a line of thunderstorms that also spawned a few tornadoes. Maryland doesn't usually get tornadoes. You don't close down your business for a cold front with some severe storms. There were forecasts for thunderstorms, but thats normal for autumn. These were unusually severe thunderstorms for the area. You don't close down everything because a cold front is coming through...nothing would ever get done.

  25. Luckily Amazon sells bad jokes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unless the ones making the jokes knew the people personally, they're not "coping" with anything. They're just opportunists.

  26. Bad geography by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why would there be a 50 foot border wall there, its nowhere close to Mexico.

  27. Re:Baltimore has the highest murder rate of US cit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Limiting guns clearly does nothing. Chicago is right there on the list and guns are already all but impossible to have there. Everyone still has them though (illegally of course). Limiting guns only limits LEGAL gunowners who will abide by laws. It does nothing for the people who will be using them for murder.

    It's easier to have this discussion if you admit that you hate/are scared of guns and merely want to limit them. The actual solution has nothing to do with guns or gun control. Fix education, mental healthcare, and the job situation of the affected areas first and I'd bet real money you'll see all of that drop immensely. Those areas have the highest murder rates largely because of gangs killing each other and committing crimes. Fix the issues with gangs and 80-90% of your trouble is gone.

  28. Why were they working? by mysidia · · Score: 1

    There was an EF-1 Tornado powerful enough to take off roofs..... everyone ought to have evacuated when a warning sounded to a structurally sound room --- makes you wonder what kind of operation Amazon is running there...
      no emergency preparedness?

    1. Re:Why were they working? by jrmcferren · · Score: 1

      From my understanding there was no tornado warning.

      --
      sudo mod me up
  29. Not by Amazon by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    and the smaller contractor company can just fold and re-incorporate and walk away scot-free. It's the employee equivalent of the "layering" step in money laundering. You distance yourself from the bad things your company does.

    --
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  30. One more thing to add by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    In a lot of jurisdictions the company is responsible for carrying insurance to pay out these claims, but they have the "option" of not carrying the insurance provided they pay all claims as specified by the law out of pocket. That's why folding the contracting company works.

    --
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    1. Re:One more thing to add by dryeo · · Score: 2

      OK, here in BC (and Canada in general I believe), compo is government based and all workers have to be covered. In the case of contractors, the contracting company or in the case of self-employed, the individual, have to cover it. It costs money but the idea is that all workers are protected.
      So in this case the only difference using contractors would make is who pays for compo, or in the case of not covering the workers, who gets sued/charged by the Province.
      Seems in America, the workers have shit rights compared to the employers. Here, I often hear government ads on the radio reminding workers of their rights like a safe work environment.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  31. Re:Baltimore has the highest murder rate of US cit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Limiting guns clearly does nothing. Chicago is right there on the list and guns are already all but impossible to have there.

    Nice ad hominem. Whether or not guns scare me is irrelevant. It is not the problem on the table.
    Overall, your response is a textbook example of what I said. Limiting guns in chicago is obviously going to have a limited impact because of well cars.

    Limiting guns and ammo in the entire united states would have an effect, though given the existing quantity, it might take awhile to happen. Yes, you can do the things you mentioned, but by removing guns from the table well that just makes You a part of the problem, since your ignoring solutions because you don't like the solution, and what is worst is your using completely dishonest attacks to do so.

    Limiting guns does work in every other development country that has done it. To believe America is an exception to that, is to believe in well bullshit, but given the republican party, that is part for the course.

    Now if you want to be honest and say, yea, I know it would probably work, but you value gun freedom more than dead kids, well then I'd have a tiny amount of respect for you.

  32. Wait, what? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

    People injured in the event and next-of-kin for the fatalities can't sue Amazon over this, because they aren't technically employed by Amazon

    I'm not employed by Amazon, but if one of their buildings drops a wall on me, you better believe I'm suing.

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
    1. Re:Wait, what? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      I'm not employed by Amazon, but if one of their buildings drops a wall on me, you better believe I'm suing.

      That's the point. It's likely not Amazon's building. It's probably not even owned by the company that hired all the workers. It's owned and leased from a third party.

  33. Re:Baltimore has the highest murder rate of US cit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, someone is actually using the "won't someone think of the children" argument? So discredited, so appeal to emotion.

  34. Re:Baltimore has the highest murder rate of US cit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, someone is actually using the "won't someone think of the children" argument? So discredited, so appeal to emotion.

    Gun violence in the United States results in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries annually. In 2013, there were 73,505 nonfatal firearm injuries (23.2 injuries per 100,000 persons), and 33,636 deaths due to "injury by firearms" (10.6 deaths per 100,000 persons).

    Okay if the school shootings don't bother you, and it seems they don't, how about the adults. Also, think of the children, is a valid concern, if the problem affects children, as the children, will, hopefully grow up, I'm pretty sure the problem does affect them.

    I guess it all depends on what you consider an acceptable tradeoff. Clearly you consider it better for another 30 thousand people's lives to be lost a year than to consider any actual gun laws.. Fair enough. You have stated what you value.

  35. That murder rate keeps droping by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    along with crime in general. Meanwhile fatal workplace accidents are increasing.

    As long as there is murder there will be a city with the highest murder rates. The question is are we doing everything we can to stop murder? Of course not. We could legalize drugs tomorrow, treat the hard stuff as a medical problem and massively cut back on murder. But just because we're not doing everything we can to stop murder doesn't mean we should ignore or even de-prioritize workplace safety.

    --
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  36. Re: Baltimore has the highest murder rate of US ci by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Limiting guns in the other countries, at the levels they are limited, didn't require actual civil wars, which is what would be required here. Your plan to reduce gun deaths would require that people get shot.

  37. This is no accident by dcooper_db9 · · Score: 1

    This isn't an accident, it's a regulatory failure. If you want to do business in Maryland you have to be willing to game the system.

    Years ago my mother had her childcare business shut down for nearly two months. The Maryland Child Care Administration had ordered her to replace the standard deadbolt with a lock keyed on both sides. They didn't want an intruder to be able to break through the glass and turn the lock. Then the fire marshal ordered her to remove the keyed deadbolt so people could exit quickly in a fire.

    She ended up satisfying both agencies by gluing a key into the deadbolt.

    --
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