LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- From fires, explosions to rescue missions and more, several dangerous workplace incidents happened in Louisville this week.

There were at least four dangerous workplace events in Jefferson County since Tuesday. While none of the incidents are connected, many workers are concerned with their safety.

Personal injury attorney Karl Truman represents hundreds of clients a year. He said, lately, it seems like there have been a rash of workplace incidents.

"I think things have kind of gotten worse," Truman said. "Perhaps companies are getting complacent with safety standards."

On Saturday, a fire broke out at a chemical plant near Louisville's Park Duvalle neighborhood. Workers at Zeon Chemicals LP in the 4100 block of Bells Lane notified leadership about a fire in a "single process area" at 7:45 a.m. Firefighters contained the flames and the smoke dissipated.

Zeon Chemicals said no hazardous chemicals were released into the air and no one was hurt.

"We can't really explain what had happened yet," said Lori Carson, Zeon Chemicals director of health. "There is a lot of data to go through, but more to come."

On Friday morning, thick smoke was spotted along the Louisville waterfront due to a fire at a sand company on River Road. The fire occurred at Nugent Sand Company and started in a machine compound. 

Louisville Fire & Rescue Capt. Donovan Sims said workers at the site told fire officials "they were working at the bottom of the machine, cutting out some material, and they believe some of the sparks from that ended up going up the chute and [igniting] some of that fuel that's inside the machine." 

It took firefighters about 25 minutes to gain control of the fire. 

"Sometimes we laugh about it, 'that's an OSHA standard,' but workplace safety is so important," Truman said. 

On Thursday, a man was trapped under rubble of a structure collapse on East Chestnut Street in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood for more than eight hours. The Louisville Fire Department said the collapse happened around 11:40 a.m. in the 300 block of East Chestnut, which is near Floyd Street, just north of Broadway.

City officials said the building is an active construction site, the former Community Correctional Center which is in the process of being demolished for the planned LOUMED Commons, a park and greenspace as part of a larger hospital district east of downtown.

Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill said a man working at the site — as a contractor, not a city employee —  fell 10-12 feet through a floor and, while he was breathing and communicating with rescuers, he was pinned beneath the rubble. The man is a Spanish speaker, so a bilingual Louisville firefighter was speaking with him during the process.

O'Neill said it was a "very, very slow process" to get the man out, citing the need to carefully remove rubble while also ensuring nothing else falls on the man. They had to use their hands and buckets to get him out.

"So he was conscious and with us the entire time, he's helping to try to dig himself out and was able to describe a little bit about what was going on with him," O'Neill previously said. "Was tremendously brave but again, it was just a highly technical, extremely difficult, we've seen a lot of trench rescues over the 24 years that I've been doing this."

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Friday afternoon the man's prognosis at the hospital was "very well" and, while he's still being treated, the hope is that the stay will be short.

But the week started with a deadly workplace incident. Two people died and 11 others were injured in an explosion at the Givaudan plant in Clifton on Tuesday afternoon.

Just days before the explosion, an employee reportedly warned co-workers about a critical piece of equipment at the plant—Cooker 6.

According to workers, the employee explicitly told them not to walk past Cooker 6, as it had been overheating for several days. This warning, issued five days before the tragic incident, raises serious questions about whether the equipment should have been taken out of service sooner.

"Workplace standards have gotten more relaxed these days, less enforcement, less government funding, less government oversight," Truman said. "So many of the in-state and federal OSHA workers are stretched a little thin. They can't get to all of the different workplaces to do with proper inspections, so it makes it tough."

Jefferson County didn't have the only workplace incidents around the area this week. 

There was also a fire at Rivian Service Center in Shepherdsville on Wednesday night. Shepherdsville Fire Chief Jody Craig said a fire started in a bank of lithium batteries inside of the Rivian Repair and Restoration Center on Conestoga Parkway.

No one was injured in the fire, but everyone was evacuated from the building. Craig said the sprinkler system helped to contain the fire. 

Truman said if someone is injured at work, the most important thing is to properly document everything and notify your employer. Truman also said workers can also file an OSHA complaint.

"They have hotlines where you can call and make reports to get them in and try to do an inspection and document what was wrong and hopefully keep it from happening to somebody else," Truman said.

To file a complaint with OSHA, click here. To discuss complaints with OSHA staff, call (800) 321-6742. 

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