Obstructed Exit Routes, Fire Extinguishers Found at Ohio Dollar General
DolGen Midwest LLC faces proposed penalties of $254,478.
- By Alex Saurman
- Mar 14, 2023
About two months after OSHA’s most recent citation for Dollar General, obstructed exit routes have been found again, this time at a store in Ohio.
After receiving concerns from a local fire department, OSHA discovered that merchandise stacked in an unsafe manner was obstructing exit routes, an emergency exit and fire extinguishers at the Cincinnati, Ohio store, according to a news release.
The September and November 2022 discovery led to citations for DolGen Midwest LLC for three serious violations as well as $254,478 in proposed penalties.
"Fast access to fire extinguishers and exit doors and the routes to them are a matter of life and death in an emergency, and yet—despite millions in fines and safety violations at more than 180 locations—Dollar General continues to repeatedly ignore these conditions and risk the safety of their employees," said OSHA Area Director Ken Montgomery in Cincinnati in the news release.
In January 2023, OSHA cited Dollar General after it found obstructed exit routes at two Dollar General stores in Florida. Obstructed exit routes were also found at several Dollar General stores in 2022, including in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
"The company must change the way it operates and ensure that its store locations meet federal workplace safety standards before tragedy strikes,” Montgomery continued.