Peet's Coffee worker killed by roof collapse
The cause of the incident is under investigation; another worker was injured
A 17-year employee was killed and a woman injured early Friday when a roof collapsed at the East Oakland coffee distribution warehouse where they were working, authorities said.
Both of them worked for Peet's Coffee and Tea.
Authorities said a portion of the roof at the warehouse in the 600 block of 85th Avenue collapsed about 3:20 a.m. Friday.
Fire officials said the 30-by30-foot portion that collapsed represented only about 5% of the total roof area.
The man killed was brought outside before first responders
arrived, fire officials said. He was pronounced dead there.
A woman who was injured was
taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported.
Authorities said the building is a large distribution center and one of its main occupants is Peet's Coffee and Tea.
Peet's spokesperson Mary O'Connell said Friday the man killed was a well-liked and highly respected employee who had worked 17 years for Peet's. He was sitting in an office when the roof above it collapsed.
She could not release his name yet but said he was a “distribution lead” who managed the flow of product and trucks.
She was trying to confirm the woman's job at the facility.
O'Connell said colleagues were “absolutely shaken” by the man's death. “He was always upbeat and had a great sense of humor,” O'Connell said. “He had a joke for everyone and everyone warmed to him.”
She said work shifts were canceled at the facility Friday and that Peet's is looking for a temporary facility.
In the meantime, Peet's is doing its best to cope with what happened, including the company president communicating with employees. “We're devastated; we're reeling,” O'Connell said.
Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Chris Foley on Friday morning said the cause of the collapse is under investigation and it was too early to say if it was weatherrelated.
The cause of death will have to be determined by the coroner before it is officially counted as a storm-related death, according to Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
The building has been redtagged, meaning it cannot be occupied at least for the time being. City structural engineers and representatives from Cal/ OSHA also responded to the scene. A Cal/OSHA official said the agency has opened an investigation into the workplace collapse.