Hamlet: The Untold Tragedy 1994 Robert Cotter

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• published: 25 Aug 2012
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This film tells the story of a dreadful fire that swept through the Imperial Food Products chicken processing plant in the early morning of September 3, 1991 in Hamlet, North Carolina. That morning, workers at the plant in Hamlet, North Carolina, smelled something burning. As they were rapidly engulfed in thick, yellow smoke, an acrid combination of melting insulation and burning soybean oil and chicken, they tried to escape but found the doors to the plant locked. Twenty-five workers died in the tragic fire, one of the worst disasters of its kind, reminiscent of the Triangle Shirt Factory fire in early 1900s New York City, where many seamstresses leapt to their deaths because stairway doors were locked. The film was written and produced by Robert Cotter and Maureen Costello and released in 1994. Cotter and Costello's film documents the plight of the Imperial Food workers and what effect this tragic event has had in their lives. Besides the fire-related deaths, 56 workers were injured in the fire with severe burns, blindness, respiratory disease from smoke inhalation, neurological and brain damage, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. Nineteen of the 25 workers killed were single mothers. Altogether, 56 children were touched by the disaster, which led to the death or serious injury of a parent, often times a mother. "It was like being locked up in hell," recalls one worker. Owner Roe pleaded guilty to 25 counts of manslaughter, while his son and another man went free as part of a plea bargain agreement. Blame for the fire has generally been attributed to various local, federal and state agencies. The plant was visited daily by the poultry inspector, who knew the plant doors were regularly locked in violation of safety codes, a violation that was never reported. In fact, the Imperial Food plant had already experienced three fire flare-ups earlier that year, but despite obvious danger, fire exits remained locked. The plant had never been inspected by North Carolina OSHA in the 11 years it had been open. The deaths prompted legislative leaders to create a special commission to make policy recommendations for tougher safety laws. The General Assembly passed a version of the commission's recommendations the following summer, giving workers in North Carolina more protections on the job. However, less than two years after the deadly fire, insurance companies and the business lobby in North Carolina got together and introduced legislation to slash compensation for injured workers. Some of the workers have become activists, determined to battle the bureaucratic injustice. In 1992, the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA) was enacted following the disastrous plant fire at Imperial Foods in Hamlet. REDA incorporated whistleblower protections from the Wage and Hour and the Occupational Safety and Health acts. In response the Hamlet tragedy, OSHA conducted a reevaluation of the performance of the North Carolina State Plan and a special evaluation of all other State Plans. OSHA reasserted concurrent Federal enforcement jurisdiction in North Carolina and the AFL-CIO petitioned OSHA to withdraw approval of the North Carolina State Plan. In response, North Carolina made modifications to its program. Major modifications were made to the State's occupational safety and health program enabling legislation; State funding and staffing were increased. In 1995 OSHA permitted NCOSH to resume full control. A novel about the fire, Southern Tragedy in Crimson and Yellow by was written by Lawrence Naumoff and published in 2005. It won a prize for the best novel of the year in North Carolina. A report about the fire by the NFPA is available at http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/fihamlet.pdf . A FEMA report on the fire with ten lessons to be learned can be read at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-057.pdf . The lessons included that life safety codes must be enforced, State and Federal inspectors from various departments should be cross-trained, establish a "worry free" line of communications for industry employees, the number of OSHA safety inspectors must be increased, emergency exit drills must be incorporated into industry policies. For more information or help, contact The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH at http://www.coshnetwork.org/ National COSH is a federation of local and statewide "COSH" groups--Committees/Coalitions on Occupational Safety and Health. COSH groups are private, non-profit coalitions of labor unions, health and technical professionals, and others interested in promoting and advocating for worker health and safety. Thanks to the filmmaker Robert Cotter for permission to post this important film.