Man Loses Arm in Industrial Accident

A Port Hueneme man was in serious but stable condition Tuesday after losing his left arm in an industrial accident Monday night at a produce company near Oxnard, authorities said.

Jerre Marsh, 59, a maintenance technician at Mission Produce Inc., was recovering from surgery performed early Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, said hospital spokesman Alan Eyerly.

Firefighters initially thought Marsh would lose both arms, but Eyerly said the victim’s left arm was amputated beneath the elbow and the right arm was fractured. Marsh was being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Marsh was sucked into an avocado packing machine while it was turned on about 7:45 p.m. as he did maintenance work on it, according to the Ventura County Fire Department and state officials.

Firefighters spent 30 minutes using an electric cutting tool to free Marsh. To avoid the risk of further injury, paramedics took Marsh to an Oxnard hospital while he was still wrapped in part of the conveyor belt and the machinery.

Late Monday night, Marsh was airlifted to the Los Angeles hospital, where he was expected to remain for several weeks.

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health sent an investigator to the scene in the 3800 block of Dufau Road on Monday. State spokesman Dean Fryer said a cause would be released after interviews with employees and a review of the company’s training procedures.

That investigation could take up to six months, he said.

So far, Fryer said, investigators are concerned that Marsh was servicing a machine while it was running. State safety regulations require machinery with moving parts to be shut down during maintenance, he said.

Fryer said Mission Produce had a “good history,” with only two minor infractions on record, including failing to properly ventilate a building, for which the company was fined $375 in 1996, and failing to provide proper safety equipment for welders, which carried a $100 fine in 1993.