According to a recent Reddit post, in the U.S. 60 people die from walk-in freezer accidents per year, presumably in restaurants or other food service establishments. The thread makes it seem as if being trapped inside a walk-in freezer is likely. Are walk-in freezers a death trap? If you close the door behind you will you be trapped and doomed to freeze to death? Are these death statistics from freezer accidents true?
Arby’s Walk-In Freezer Death
The Reddit post leads to an article on InsideEdition. The article is about an Arby’s worker in Lousianna who tragically died after being trapped inside the restaurant’s walk-in freezer. The freezer, according to the article, was known to be a problem and other employees had been trapped inside and had to be let out by other employees.
When the woman walked inside, the door closed behind her and the plunger did not work. As well, the emergency panic button had been disconnected. There was no one else in the restaurant and the worker, Nguyet Le was trapped in the walk in freezer for 6 hours at a temperature of -20 F.
Do Walk-In Freezers Kill 60 People a Year?
The article quotes a forensic scientist named Howard Cannon, who said that 60 people die from walk-in freezer incidents each year. A thorough Google search sent me on a loop. The only specific reference to 60 deaths per year (from walk-in freezers) or any other numbers, is the Reddit post and the article it links to at Inside Edition.
Any other mention of walk-in freezer accidents on the web seems to be articles written by law firms about a single case. The only ‘statistic’ I could find as to the number of deaths per year resulting from being trapped inside a walk-in freezer was ‘several’ from an article on CBS News. Several deaths per year probably does not mean 60.
60 Deaths A Year From All Walk-In Freezer-Related Accidents?
Before long, this 60 deaths a-year number will propagate far and wide over the net. It may be a precise statistic, but that is not the problem. The problem is that the article does not bother to clarify that Howard was speaking of all walk-in freezer-related accidents, not just being trapped inside one. Slip and fall accidents are much more common, for example.
The website Unilad.com has posted an easily misconstrued figure from the Bureau Of Labor Statistics, stating that 60 people passed away from ‘exposure to temperature extremes’ in 2018, 53 in 2019, 62 in 2020, 77 in 2021, and 90 in 2022. These figures involve all workplace exposure incidents, which could include also exposure to extreme heat or working outside during the winter months. The website points this out.
It is not clear where the person quoted in the InsideEdition article got his numbers, or whether the author of the piece simply misunderstood what he was saying, but ’60 people dying from walk-in freezer incidents’ seems to be an untrue, if not made up, number, perhaps based on the Bureau Of Labor Statistics numbers given above.
Walk-In Freezer Safety
Walk-in freezers are often designed not to lock from the inside or there is a push-in plunger on the inside that will open the door should someone be inside. As well, there are panic buttons that can be pushed to alert other people that someone is trapped inside, should the door become stuck or the plunger does not work. Another sensible precaution is to always use a door-stop to keep the freezer door from closing all the way.
While it is possible for something to go wrong, before the internet becomes abuzz about the danger of walk-in freezers, serious accidents are just as likely to be the results of inattention to walk-in freezer safety regulations. As tragic as the death at Arby’s was, no employee should ever be inside a walk-in freezer with nobody else around!
One basic safety protocol for walk-in freezers that all food-service employees should follow is the buddy system. You must always inform someone before you go into the freezer. Someone should always be aware. This simple precaution can prevent most accidents from becoming serious.
Basic maintenance should be done and if a plunger does not always work correctly, this should be repaired. If the freezer door routinely becomes stuck, this also should be repaired. And, the panic button should never be disabled.
What’s more, we can surmise that the freezer was missing another basic emergency tool: A fireman’s axe. Although other precautions might prevent its necessity, this basic tool mean the difference between life and death.
If all else fails, should someone be trapped inside a walk-in freezer, they can use the fireman’s axe to cut their way out. Yes, this is possible. Walk-in freezers are not Fort Knox. With enough motivation, a person could hack their way to safety. Obviously, you would not have a fire axe in correctional institutions where inmates are working in food-service environments.
Also, a cell phone could be a lifesaver. It is not clear whether the Arby’s worker had her cell phone with her. While a cell signal might be weak inside a cooler, it may still be possible to make a call.
Basic Safety Procedures For Walk-In Freezers to Prevent Being Trapped Inside
Let’s go over the basic safey precautions for everyday use of a food-service walk-in freezer:
- Use a door stop to keep the freezer door from closing.
- Make sure there is a fireman’s axe inside the freezer.
- Notify other employees before entering the walk-in freezer.
- When notified that another employee is going into the walk-in freezer, check up on them after a reasonable time, to make sure all is well.
- Before entering the freezer, put on warm clothing. At a minimum, don a warm jacket and hat. It may be prudent to have warm clothing hanging outside the freezer in a convenient location.
- Always have your cell phone on your person when entering the walk-in freezer.
If one becomes trapped inside a walk-in freezer, perform the following steps:
Try to open the door from the inside, using the plunger mechanism. If the door seems stuck, use brute force to try to force it open.
- If you cannot open the door, use the panic button.
- If the panic button does not work or is not available, try to call for help on your cell phone.
- If the signal is weak, walk about the freezer to see if you can get a better signal.
- If you can’t make a phone call, yell and bang and make as much noise as possible to alert fellow workers about your predicament.
- If all else fails, use the fireman’s axe to cut your way out
Overall Walk-In Freezer Safety
As stated, I was unable to find any other statistics related to the number of deaths per year related to walk-in freezer accidents. However, I can almost guarantee that most of these deaths are not related to being trapped inside, but are instead due to other accidents, such as slip and fall accidents inside the freezer.
Walk-ins are one of the most neglected places in restaurants. Workers often fail to clean up spills and in a freezing environment, these spills can become patches of slippery ice. Other hazards can also be present. Here is a list of walk-in freezer dangers that can expose workers to hazards that lead to injury or even death. Note that some of these are general to restaurant kitchens in general, but extend into the walk-in freezer.
Walk-In Freezer Hazards
1. Slipping and falling on spilled liquids, vegetables on the floor, or oil spills on the floor.
2. Colliding with other workers or objects in the tight space leading to falls.
3. Exposed electric components or short-circuits that can cause shocks
4. Carrying sharp objects within the freezer such as knives, box cutters, etc.
5. Working in the freezer for a prolonged period (nobody should ever work for hours inside the freezer).
In summary, while tragedies like this do occur, being trapped inside a walk-in freezer is not very likely. There are usually safety features and safety precautions in place to prevent such accidents. However, walk in freezer accidents of other types are more common.
All basic safety walk-in freezer safety procedures should be followed to prevent such accidents. While I was unable to verify the statistics given in the article, it is important to realize that “60 deaths per year” refers to all walk-in freezer-related incidents, not just those involving being trapped inside a freezer.
