FORT WORTH, Texas — One person was killed in an industrial accident in Fort Worth, officials say.
Firefighters arrived at Fiber Co. on East 1st Street around 10:30 a.m. after employees reported a coworker missing from the work floor say they and quickly learned they would be making a recovery rather than a rescue.
"They're technical rescue specialists," said Fort Worth Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Clay, "So when we have heavy machinery, they're usually able to work out how to the best to deal with these situations."
Fiber Co. Inc. uses heavy machinery to manufacture and distribute needle punch non-woven fabric. Employees noticed one of their coworkers who was cleaning the production floor was missing and called 911. Firefighters trained to respond to industrial accidents recovered his body from one of the company machines.
"We may be here several hours because it is a lot of machinery," said Clay, "It's practically one big machine, and its maybe 80 feet long one way and another 20 another way. So, it's a big machine."
Fiber Co. Inc. is a small business with about 22 employees according to online records. The company has been in business for more than 50 years. The area around the business is littered with white cotton scattered throughout the grass and adjacent properties on East 1st Street.
Crime Scene workers collected evidence and took photographs. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner transported the employee's body, as emergency responders tried to make sense of what happened.
The victim was later identified as 44-year-old Keith Varner of Hurst.
“I'm not sure if he got a piece of his clothing caught and then, which drew him into the machine," said Clay. "I know his wife is on the scene. It's, I can't imagine what that's like for her. I know his father works at the company here. So, it's very difficult for that family to be dealing with us right now.”
Texas saw an alarming increase in workplace fatalities in 2022, with 578 deaths reported according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s 8% more than in 2021 from 533 workplace deaths.
Fort Worth Police Officers are investigating to determine how the workplace fatality happened at Fiber Co. Inc.
WFAA reached out to the company for a statement about the incident. The company closes in the midafternoon on Fridays and weekends. We'll update this story as additional details become available.