DURHAM - Safety concerns for maintenance workers will be among the subjects Duke University officials will review as part of an investigation into the death of an employee.

Rayford Cofer, 63, was killed Wednesday after a steam pipe ruptured while he was working in the mechanical room of the Levine Science Research Center. It was not known Thursday whether Cofer, a master steamfitter, was working on the pipe when it broke.

Kemel Dawkins, Duke vice president for campus services, said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that a group of employees was in or near the mechanical room when the pipe ruptured and that what each person was doing at the time is still being determined. He said he didn't know when the steam-only metal pipe was last inspected or how old it is but said there were no concerns about a similar incident elsewhere on campus.

Many of Duke's buildings are heated and cooled by steam, which runs out of a central steam plant and is transferred through underground pipes.

OSHA on hand

An investigator from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is at Duke looking into the accident. OSHA investigates all workplace deaths.

WRAL reported that Cofer's stepson, identified as William Coble, had raised unspecified concerns about workplace safety. "We are looking into it," Dawkins said.

The most recent serious safety violation found at Duke by OSHA was in 1992, involving a construction trench, according to the state Department of Labor.

Fire alarms and a sprinkler system were activated after the rupture, and the research center's basement was flooded. Most of that water was cleared by Thursday morning, allowing the building to reopen. None of the water is contaminated, Dawkins said.

Construction of a water line in front of the building appears to be unrelated to the incident Wednesday, Dawkins said.

"We're confident the building is safe," he said.

In front of the school's main administration building, the university's flag was at half-staff in memory of Cofer.