Two fatalities not first worker deaths at Goldsboro plant

Authorities said Dennis Martin, 51, of Goldsboro, and Daniel Craig Anderson, 33, of Dudley, died, and William Saviak, 40, also of Dudley, was injured Monday when one of them fell into a transformer at SPX Transformer Solutions Inc. and two others went in to help him but became unresponsive.

Authorities haven't said which of the three fell or how the two men died. Saviak was in critical condition Tuesday in the intensive care unit at Wayne Memorial Hospital.

The Occupational Safety and Health Division of the state Department of Labor was investigating the incident.

OSH last investigated SPX three years ago, when a worker there was electrocuted, Department of Labor spokesman Neal O'Briant said. No citations were issued in that case, he said.

State investigators have cited SPX for numerous workplace safety violations in the past 15 years, however.

Two serious violations were found in a 2007 inspection, one was found in 2006, another two in 2005 and 10 in 2001, according to O'Briant. SPX has paid more than $15,000 in penalties to resolve the various citations.

"The safety of our employees and their work environment is a top priority for SPX," the Waukesha, Wis.-based company said in a statement, adding that officials are working with investigators to determine what happened at the plant on U.S. Highway 117.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened by this incident and offer our sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of the employees involved," the company statement said.

Anderson became a father earlier this year, according to a neighbor, while Martin was a grandfather.

SPX is one of the largest manufacturers of power transformers in the United States. The company employs about 1,000 people and has plants in Wisconsin and Texas as well as Goldsboro.