OT- Maintenance Worker Stung By 2000 Bees @Sun City West GC

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Maintenance worker stung nearly 2,000 times at Sun City West golf course; on life support A man is fighting for his life at a Valley hospital after being stung an estimated 2,000 times at a Sun City West golf course over the weekend.According to Arizona Fire Medical Authority, the incident happened early Saturday morning at the Pebblebrook Golf Course in Sun City West. When firefighters arrived, they found a man, a maintenance worker in his 50s, covered in bees. “We thought it was grass clippings on his face but as we got closer, we realized those were actually bees,” one crew member wrote on their report. Firefighters dressed in bee hoods and deployed a hose line with foam to subdue the bees. Authorities then immediately rushed the man to a nearby hospital where, as of Monday morning, he remains intubated.
So far this year, AFMA has responded to 6 bee incidents. They responded to a total of 15 bee incidents in 2022.

https://www.azfamily.com/2023/08/21/maintenance-worker-stung-nearly-2000-times-sun-city-west-golf-course-life-support/

[Matt Schoolfield]

Uff... such a tragedy. If anyone is in the area, please let me know if there is any fund or anything.

Likely invasive Africanized honey bees given the region (technically all wild honey bees are invasive in the states). Most people can simply outrun bees in such an attack. I grew up in a region that has had this subspecies since I was a child, yet even in that region most did not know this basic safety precaution. Whenever I am stung, the first thing I'm thinking is to be ready run as I assess my situation. I just wish it was more common knowledge.

[Ken Moum]

A few years ago I talked to very experienced beekeeper in Tempe (50+ years), and he said he assumed all of his hives were Africanized. And dressed appropriately when working them.


Oddly, he also said he liked them, because they were hardier.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I saw an incident like that when on a site visit to my project in Indonesia, circa 1990 or so.  The bulldozer was clearing trees when a nest fell right in his lap, causing about 100 stings.  We rushed him to the local hospital, which was so filthy I wouldn't take my dogs there, much less people.  He survived.  He was a friend/shaper on previous projects I brought over there, so I felt somewhat responsible.


It did make me rethink where I worked a bit.  That, plus my then young kids getting old enough to realize I was gone a few weeks at a time made me quit Asia work for many years.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Good news: The maintenance worker is no longer intubated.