Nikodem Zaremba, 27, of Elmwood Park (inset), died December 12, 2022 after dozens of firefighters helped rescue him after he was trapped in a hole in the ground outside an apartment building on the 1000 block of Aspen Drive in Buffalo grove | Photo – Links: Provided; Photo – Right: Max Weingardt
Federal officials have quoted a plumbing company as saying the death of a 27-year-old worker buried alive in a ditch collapse in Buffalo Grove was avoidable.
Nikodem Zaremba, 27, of Elmwood Park, died around 7:20 p.m. on Dec. 12, according to the Cook County Coroner’s Office.
Zaremba was trapped in a hole in the front yard of an apartment building on the 1000 block of Aspen Drive in Buffalo Grove around 5:30 p.m. that day.
A company, Rooter Solutions, Inc., was contracted to perform sewer repair work at the residence.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said Zaremba landed about two meters above the surface and repaired a residential water main damaged during excavation.
The walls of the ditch collapsed, crushing Zaremba, who lay buried in the hole, not breathing.
Dozens of firefighters help rescue a man trapped in a hole in front of an apartment building on the 1000 block of Aspen Drive in Buffalo Grove on December 12, 2022. | Photo: Max Weingardt
On Nov. 29, Rooter Solutions was granted a sewer rehabilitation permit for the property, the village said.
The company owner and two employees, including Zaremba, worked at the excavation site, which was about 13 feet long, 9 feet wide and 8 feet deep.
The second operative, who was in the trenches with Zaremba, escaped unharmed.
OSHA inspectors found that Rooter Solutions Inc. had failed to install collapse protection that would have protected workers in the trench and failed to ensure the use of the required head protection.
Firefighters arrived and confirmed that Zaremba was trapped in the hole. The alert has been increased to allow for an extended on-site technical rescue operation.
A total of 17 fire brigades and 62 rescue workers were deployed.
Technical rescue specialists were working “frantically” to extricate and recover the man from the collapse, village officials said at the time.
Dozens of firefighters help rescue a man trapped in a hole in front of an apartment building on the 1000 block of Aspen Drive in Buffalo Grove on December 12, 2022. | Photo: Max Weingardt
Zaremba was evacuated at 6:35 p.m. – more than an hour after the first 911 call – and taken by ambulance to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, where he later died.
State records indicate that Zaremba was an apprentice plumber.
Rooter Solutions, Inc. was legally incorporated in August 2022 and had no OSHA history prior to the incident.
OSHA completed its investigation earlier this month, suing Rooter Solutions Inc. for “willful injury” and “grave injury” with proposed penalties of $35,940.
“Trench collapses are among the deadliest hazards in construction. The ground can suddenly shift, burying a person under thousands of pounds of dirt and rock,” said Sukhvir Kaur, director of OSHA’s Chicago North region.
Dozens of firefighters help rescue a man trapped in a hole in front of an apartment building on the 1000 block of Aspen Drive in Buffalo Grove on December 12, 2022. | Photo: Max Weingardt
Kaur said Zaremba’s death was one of 39 deaths caused by fatal injuries in trench collapses in 2022.
Arlington Heights resident Klaudia Potapa said Zaremba is a “hardworking, loving and kind soul.”
“He loved and cared deeply about everyone around him, be it his family, friends or colleagues. Family was the most important thing for him, it was his main motivation in everything he did,” said Potapa.
“For Nikuś friends, he was the fun-loving, adventurous git who always got your back. To his parents he was the firstborn son. To his brothers he was the eldest, a strong role model and an everlasting friend,” she added.
Zaremba’s fiancé remembered him as her “everything, best friend, soul mate and future husband”.
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