Declarations

The Donkey Got Out

“People could have gotten out of there … my donkey was smart enough to get out of there.”

—Michael Ballard, speaking of the fire that destroyed his Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, S.D., said his bar was safe and had multiple exit points. No one was injured and the fire at what is known as “The World’s Largest Biker Bar” was ruled accidental.

Hazardous but Preventable

“Pier 1 Imports exposed workers to hazardous but preventable conditions and ultimately jeopardized the safety of their workers in doing so,”

—Jack Rector, area director, U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Fort Worth, Texas. OSHA cited Pier 1 in September for workplace safety hazards at facilities in Fort Worth and Mansfield, Texas. Proposed penalties total $86,100. The company was cited for three serious and two repeated violations.

Be Prepared

“Remember that freedom isn’t free and the threat that we faced on 9/11 – which we had faced before in this country; ’93 on the same site – is only getting worse and we have to be ready and prepared.

—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on the threat of terrorism during his speech at a New York City ceremony commemorating the 14th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Consequences

“Bad management decisions have real and lasting consequences, and when those decisions involve safety, the consequences can be tragic.”

—Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA’s regional administrator, in regards to a decision by a judge to uphold safety violation citations against production company Film Allman LLC. Sarah Jones, a camera assistant, was struck and killed by an oncoming train during the filming of a scene for Allman’s movie “Midnight Rider” in Feb. 2014.

Rotten Kid

“He robbed her of everything.”

—Viola Slade, the sister of 81-year-old Oregon woman Lola Powell, said Powell’s 53-year-old son stole from her on top of intentionally setting fire to the home by leaving his mother’s curling iron on in her downstairs bathroom. The woman lost her home and her insurance policy was canceled.