PHOENIX — State investigators released their final report on an underground fire that killed an APS employee in downtown Phoenix last summer.
Ricardo “Rico” Castillo, a 12-year employee of APS, was killed in the fire and a second employee was injured. The incident happened under First Avenue and Washington Streets in downtown Phoenix on June 30, 2019.
The fire was described as an explosion and firefighters found a "large amount of fire" coming from an APS manhole when they arrived on the scene just after 10:30 p.m. that Sunday night.
According to a new report from the Arizona Industrial Commission, which oversees worksite safety, APS did not violate any safety standards.
Instead, the report found Castillo mistakenly touched the wrong line.
"Through our investigation, it was determined that [Castillo] grabbed the live wire thinking that was the de-energized wire to work on," Commission spokesperson Trevor Laky told 12 News.
The report stated the wires targeted for maintenance were de-energized two days prior and remained that way the night of the fire. The other wires in the vault were hot.
Interviews of employees at the site of the accident suggest no one checked that the line Castillo came into contact with had been verified as de-energized.
"Work scope was not to work on live lines – was supposed to be verified – but not done," an employee said, according to interview notes of one APS employee at the site.
The report also describes how Castillo and his partner were briefed about the maintenance work to be performed in the vault.
“The jobsite Foreman entered the space and walked the two Electricians through the process of what their work activity involved. Following that instruction, the Foreman asked the two if there were any questions and they stated no," the report states.
A representative of the union for electrical workers at APS tells 12 News he generally supports the conclusion of the report.
"I would agree that it was an accident and no violations were found,” said David Vandever, Business Manager of IBEW Local 387.
A spokesperson for APS did not answer whether the incident resulted in demotions or changes at the company.
“We cooperated fully with the ADOSH investigation, as well as undertaking and completing a thorough internal investigation into this tragic accident and remain committed to safety, which is one of our company's core values and our highest priority,” said APS Communications Consultant Jill Hanks, in an email to 12 News.
