What role did cell phones play for warehouse workers in last week's deadly tornadoes?
When tornadoes hit two large warehouse-type buildings in two states last week, workers raised questions about how they were able to use or respond to their cell phones.
- For many, mobile phones are an indsipensible source of information during emergencies.
- But after storms killed warehouse workers last week, cell phone policies came under scrutiny.
- Experts are dubious about whether more phones are better, if good procedures are already in place.
When large-scale tragedy strikes workers in warehouses, questions immediately arise about the ability to get emergency information to people who may be prohibited from carrying phones in the vast, windowless facilities.
The devices have become a lifeline and emergency apps and alarms jolted many residents awake and caused them to seek shelter late Friday night and Saturday morning as the storms cut a swath through six states.
Many companies bar employees from carrying their mobile phone on the job for reasons that go beyond being distracted or wasting workshift time. They could include electrical hazards or introducing germs in sanitized areas, said Chip Darius an occupational safety expert who has been an instructor at a regional OSHA Training Institute.
But when it comes to emergencies, mobile phones are unnecessary, he said. Employers are required by OSHA to have systems to notify employees immediately of an emergency and tell them what actions to take. Often, it’s a plant-wide alarm system.
"Cell phones wouldn’t make any difference,” Darius said.
Amazon: Workers were instructed to take shelter
The issue arises after the deaths of six workers at an Amazon distribution center in Edwardsville, Ill. and eight at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky last week. They were among the scores killed by a deadly swarm of tornadoes that ravaged the Midwest and South.
Mobile phones might have been a quick, direct way to further spread information of the emergency and what actions to take.
Cherie Jones, longtime girlfriend of a worker at the Amazon plant told the New York Post that he texted her as the tornado drama unfolded saying “well, Amazon won’t let me leave until after the storm blows over.” The employee, Larry Virden, 36, died after the roof collapsed Friday.
She said she believes that had the Amazon not restricted him, he could have driven home and possibly saved his life.
Reached for comment, Amazon said in a statement that the tornado appeared to have formed "incredibly fast.”
Alerts were received between 21 minutes and 11 minutes before the twister struck and workers, who are allowed to have mobile phones while they are on the job, were instructed to take shelter.
'We followed all safety protocols'
At the Mayfield Consumer Products in Kentucky, employees said they were aware of severe weather threats throughout the evening: their phones were buzzing and warning sirens were going off outside.
A company spokesman has said the company, which had 110 people in the warehouse at the time the storm hit, followed safety protocols and that managers got employees to a safe location.
“We’ve had a miracle situation,” company spokesman Bob Ferguson told . “Only eight lost.”
But some employees at the candle factory want to know why the company didn’t decide to close and send workers home before the massive twister leveled the building, with some saying they were told they could be fired if they left.
“This was an unprecedented storm,” Ferguson said.
The Courier Journal interviewed factory workers and company representatives to recreate the final hours before the tornado destroyed the building. There was no shortage of phones among employees, but several workers saying they were discouraged from taking any action on the alerts they were receiving.
►'They should have sent us home': Inside the frantic hours before candle factory was destroyed by tornado
But still, questions remain about whether workers might be able to be better able to make their own decisions if they could independently receive warnings or otherwise communicate using their mobile phones.
"A cellphone on the floor can be a highly complicating factor in certain kinds of workplaces,” said Darius, the OSHA expert with Safety Priority Consultants.
Plus, he added, workers are safer if they take shelter at a plant rather than become exposed in their vehicles attempting to flee home during a tornado.
One worker, however, lamented about FedEx’s mobile phone policy last April when a gunman went on a killing spree in Indianapolis, claiming eight lives and wounding several others.
"If my friend had a phone, he could be able to contact me right away,” Jose Lopez, who worked at the FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center for about six months, told the Indianapolis Star. “Even if it’s a message with one letter, you know he is living.”
FedEx told Paste BN in a statement that select employees do have phones, but that phones are generally not allowed “to minimize potential distractions around package sortation equipment and docks operations.”
The company said has “robust” safety plans in place to protect its employees during rough weather.
“Our team members followed these protocols during last week’s storms and we are grateful that they remained safe,” the company’s statement said.
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