FREMONT

Normally, Nate Kern wouldn’t have been at The Fremont Company on Wednesday.

“He was a fabricator,” said John Kern, his father. “He didn’t normally work in the field, but they needed a welder and they asked him to go. He was happy to.” 

At 36, Nate had been a B&W Welding employee nearly half his life.

He had joined the company’s other employees that day as they set out to work on steel columns inside The Fremont Company’s cooking room. The columns served as support structures. 

At about 1:30 p.m., something went terribly wrong. The concrete roof collapsed inside the cooking room, showering the four men inside with a mountain of concrete and rubble.  

The Northwest Ohio Urban Search and Rescue unit, Fremont firefighters, Sandusky County North Central EMS and dozens of other emergency crews rushed to the scene. 

B&W employee Todd Michael was trapped under 8-inch-thick slabs of concrete. For four grueling hours, Michael talked to rescuers as they worked to free him. He provided them with critical details on the size and weight of the concrete slabs that pinned him down.

Once freed, Michael was rushed to St. Vincent Medical Center, where on Thursday he underwent surgery. He may still need dialysis, said Linda Kern, Nate Kern’s mother. He remained hospitalized late Thursday, though his condition was upgraded from critical to serious.

Also rescued from the collapse was Mark Keckler, a B&W Welding employee. Keckler was taken to St. Vincent Medical Center, where he’s still being treated for injuries.        

A third survivor, Fremont Company employee David Fisher, was treated and released from Fremont Memorial Hospital. 

Rescuers weren’t able to remove Kern’s body from the debris until nine hours after the collapse. 

A day after Nate’s death, Linda and John Kern remembered their son as a quiet, good man who loved his family and his Harley Davidson. 

“Nate was always a happy-go-lucky child. He grew up to be a wonderful man,” Linda said. “He was easygoing and he loved those motorcycles.”

A motorcycle enthusiast since his mid 20s, Nate loved the open road. He had lots of friends, and most of them owned motorcycles, his father recalled. 

John Kern, in fact, asked one of Nate’s friends to ride his son’s motorcycle at the funeral procession, though he said it’s possible the family may have to cremate Nate’s body.

Nate is survived by his wife, Maria, and two children, Raven, 15, and Daniel, 11. A memorial fund in Nate’s name has been set up at Fifth-Third Bank.

Linda said she last saw her son Saturday at a family gathering, where relatives celebrated the Fourth of July and Nate’s grandmother’s 82nd birthday.

“Nate always gathered up the family,” Linda said. “He did the grilling.”

Wiping the tears from her face, Linda recalled her son at his older brother’s wedding just two weeks ago. With their young brother Joshua in the mix, all three brothers were together, dressed in tuxedos. 

The family is still waiting to develop photos from that day. 

Today, however, they’re meeting to discuss funeral arrangements. 

And the investigation into the collapse continues. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were at the scene Thursday, though there’s no way to tell how long the investigation will take, said Scott Allen, an OSHA spokesman.  

Previous workplace safety violations against both The Fremont Company and B&W Welding were minor violations, Allen said. 

OSHA’s website lists some of the violations as serious, but Allen said they were still relatively minor and carried small fines.    

Chris Smith, The Fremont Company’s vice president, said his thoughts remain with the Kerns and the three injured men and their families. 

The processing plant and surrounding buildings are currently off limits pending the investigation. The Fremont Company has shut down operations for the time being, Smith said. 

“We are cooperating with all authorities to assist them in any way possible,” he said.

Fremont fire Chief Dan DeVanna said the last inspection his department conducted at The Fremont Company was June 16. He found minor violations with the electrical system and some exit lights that weren’t properly illuminated.

Fremont’s engineering department doesn’t conduct building inspections unless a permit is needed for a project, such as an expansion or improvement, city officials said.  

Read a previous posting here. 

Related File(s): 

OSHA inspection records on B&W Welding

OSHA inspection records on The Fremont Company