OSHA Investigating After Plumber Dies In Buffalo Grove Trench Collapse

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — A federal investigation has been launched after a 27-year-old plumber from Elmwood Park died Monday night when he was buried in a trench that collapsed at a home in Buffalo Grove. The worker was buried for more than an hour after the trench collapsed during a sewer repair project, officials said Tuesday.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Nikodem Zaremba. Officials said Zaremba was working in a trench in front of a local home with another man when the wall of the trench collapsed.

Firefighters were called to the home in the 1000 block of Aspen Drive just before 5:30 p.m. after receiving a call about a person trapped in a hole, the Buffalo Grove fire department said Monday night.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, fire officials expressed sadness at the loss of Zaremba's life.

"On behalf of the Fire Department and the entire Village of Buffalo Grove, I offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Zarembra," Buffalo Grove Fire Chief Mike Baker said. "I also wish to thank the 17 area departments that provided mutual aid in this technical rescue effort."

Firefighters received word while en route that the person was buried in the hole and was not breathing. Upon arriving at the home, fire officials requested assistance from neighboring fire departments to help with the rescue, officials said.

Another plumber who was working at the job site told NBC Chicago that he had tried to dig out his coworker, who was buried under eight to nine feet of dirt.

Firefighters worked to uncover the man and remove him from the collapsed trench, officials said. The man was rescued at 6:35 p.m. and taken to Northwest Community Hospital where was pronounced dead.

On Tuesday, a GoFundMe effort was started for funeral expenses for Zaremba, whom the organizer of the effort said was engaged to be married.

"Anyone who knew Nikodem knows what a hardworking, loving, and kind soul he was," organizer Klaudia Potapa wrote on the fundraising page. "He loved and cared deeply for everyone around him whether it was his family, friends, or co-workers. Family was (of) the utmost importance to him, they were his primary motivation in all of his endeavors. To Nikuś friends, he was the fun-loving, adventurous goofball who always had your back. To his parents, he was their firstborn son. To his brothers, he was the oldest, a strong role model, and forever friend. To his fiancé, he was her everything, best friend, soulmate, and future husband. He will be ever-loved."

Village officials said on Tuesday that the village had issued a sewer repair permit for the property on Nov. 29. The contractor, Rooter Solutions, was to complete the work. In a statement issued to Patch on Tuesday, Scott Allen, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said the excavation the crew was working in was approximately 13 feet long, nine feet wide, and approximately eight feet deep.

The owner of the company and two employees were working at the site of the excavation, Allen said. It appears there was no cave-in protection in the excavation while they were performing the work, Allen said Tuesday, citing the preliminary findings of the OSHA investigation.

A message left for RooterSolutions seeking comment was not immediately returned to Patch on Tuesday.

Based on Illinois Secretary of State data, the corporation — which is based in Burr Ridge —was created in August and has no OSHA history, Allen said.

Village officials said Tuesday that the OSHA is investigating the cause of the incident and directed all media inquiries to the agency. Allen, the spokesperson for OSHA, said that it will not release more information until the investigation is complete, which will take approximately six months.

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