Why Rescuers Die in Confined Spaces
NIOSH has reported that about 60 percent of confined space deaths are people who went in to rescue someone else. A live view gives the attendant eyes past the hatch.
Direct answer
NIOSH has reported that about 60 percent of confined space deaths are people who went in to rescue someone else. A live view gives the attendant eyes past the hatch.
On August 20, 2025, a manure pipe came loose in a pump room at a dairy near Keenesburg, Colorado, and hydrogen sulfide filled the room. According to OSHA, two workers tried to stop the flow and were overcome. Four more went in after them. All six died.
In 2005, at a refinery in Delaware, a worker went into a nitrogen purged reactor after a dropped roll of duct tape and collapsed. A coworker climbed in to help him. Both died. Nitrogen has no color, smell or taste.
NIOSH has reported that about 60 percent of confined space deaths are people who went in to rescue someone else.
Give the attendant eyes
When a coworker goes down a few feet away, people react. The OSHA permit space rule keeps the attendant outside to watch and call rescue, but that is hard when you cannot see past the hatch.
The APEX Entrant Monitor Kit gives the attendant a live view of the entrant and two way audio. If the entrant stops answering, the attendant sees it at once and calls rescue instead of climbing in. See all industrial inspection kits.
Sources: OSHA citations, reported by KUNC and the Associated Press, February 25, 2026. U.S. Chemical Safety Board, Valero Delaware City case study. NIOSH, Occupational Fatalities in Confined Spaces.
Always test the atmosphere per your site's permit program before you deploy any equipment. Zistos systems do not currently carry intrinsic safety or hazardous location certification (Class I Div 1 / ATEX). If your application requires it, let's talk; we can build the right solution together.