A person fell into an asphalt silo Tuesday morning at the A.E. Stone plant in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, triggering a scramble by emergency crews to the industrial site on Doughty Road. The person's condition remains unknown as of Tuesday morning.
Fire department crews were called to A.E. Stone in the 1400 block of Doughty Road after reports that someone had fallen into an asphalt silo, according to 6abc Philadelphia. The plant sits at 1435 Doughty Road, where A.E. Stone Inc. runs its primary corporate office and hot-mix asphalt operation, according to A.E. Stone Incorporated. Daily Voice reported a major police response to the scene Tuesday following the initial reports, according to Daily Voice.
Extreme Heat Inside the Silo
Extreme Heat Inside the Silo Hot-mix asphalt storage silos generally hold liquid asphalt at temperatures between 300 and 338 degrees Fahrenheit to keep the material fluid enough for construction crews to transport and pour, per research cited by the Hawaii Department of Health. That extreme heat, combined with the risk of engulfment in a confined space, makes falls into these silos especially dangerous for anyone trapped inside.
Federal workplace safety rules classify industrial asphalt silos as permit-required confined spaces because of entrapment, engulfment, and high-heat hazards, under OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.146, as outlined by Seton. Those rules require strict atmospheric monitoring and specialized extraction gear before anyone enters a space like the one at the center of Tuesday's emergency. Roughly 60 percent of confined-space fatalities nationwide involve would-be rescuers who enter without proper training or equipment, according to research from NIST Global, a statistic that underscores why fire crews typically rely on rope rescue systems and air monitoring rather than rushing in unprepared.
A Longtime Fixture of South Jersey Road Work
A.E. Stone has deep roots in the region's infrastructure industry. The company became the first asphalt pavement recycler in Southern New Jersey after the state Department of Environmental Protection permitted its Class B recycling facility back in 1980, according to A.E. Stone Incorporated. The Doughty Road site remains licensed today, with the NJDEP regulating it under ID #131844 as a Class B facility authorized to recycle asphalt, concrete, brick, and block, per the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The company is also one of Atlantic County's largest seasonal employers, supplying New Jersey Department of Transportation-approved asphalt mixes for major highway, municipal, and airport paving jobs across South Jersey, according to A.E. Stone Incorporated. Federal Paycheck Protection Program records show the company reported 92 employees at its Egg Harbor Township location, per the Small Business Administration. State filings show that company president Steven C. Kurtz oversees the firm's roughly $50 million heavy highway and asphalt operations, including its corporate safety and risk-training programs, according to records filed with New Jersey state government.
It remains unclear how the person came to fall into the silo, whether they were an employee or contractor, or whether the extraction has been completed. Hoodline has previously reported on asphalt plant hazards elsewhere, including an August explosion that injured a worker on a silo at a Fresno facility. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
