Bumble Bee Foods

Jose Melena died when he was cooked alive inside an industrial oven called a 'retort.' Cal/OSHA found that Melena had entered the oven to make a repair or adjustment on a chain inside the machine. He left a pallet jack he used to load the tuna into the oven outside of the oven. Another employee saw that the pallet jack was not being used and assumed that Melena was in the bathroom, so the employee proceeded to use the pallet jack. A supervisor noticed the employee was using Melena's pallet jack and asked where he was, prompting an announcement over the intercom and a search of the plant. After searching for about an hour and a half, an employee suggested looking in the last oven that had been loaded, which is where they found Melena's body. The company did not have Lockout/Tagout procedures requiring the equipment to be turned off with an employee inside or provide an escape route or a spotter to keep watch with a worker in a confined space.