Construction sites are among the riskiest workplaces for workers in maintenance and engineering departments. From equipment mishaps and improper PPE to trench collapses, these sites present managers and front-line workers with myriad reasons to pay the utmost attention to safety in order to avoid injuries and even death. While not fatal, the latest incident at a construction site resulted in multiple injuries.
A building under construction near the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, partially collapsed recently when a concrete pour went awry, injuring eight people including two critically, according to The Columbian. There were no fatalities.
There were 36 people at the work site at the time, and all were accounted for, officials said. All eight injured people were construction workers. Six were pulled out of the building by firefighters, while two were able to escape on their own, officials said.
“They were doing a concrete pour on this building and as they were pouring concrete a portion of the second floor collapsed onto the first floor and then into the basement,” Mayor Justin Elicker said.
Workers at the site told first responders the concrete was being poured faster than they could spread it, and it pooled too much in one area and caused the collapse, Alston said. First responders had additional urgency to rescue the victims because the concrete was drying, he said.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor of the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
