{"id":17875,"date":"2023-06-04T23:45:09","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T06:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/8-construction-workers-injured-as-building-partially-collapses-during-concrete-mishap-in-new-haven\/"},"modified":"2023-06-04T23:45:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T06:45:10","slug":"8-construction-workers-injured-as-building-partially-collapses-during-concrete-mishap-in-new-haven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/8-construction-workers-injured-as-building-partially-collapses-during-concrete-mishap-in-new-haven\/","title":{"rendered":"8 construction workers injured as building partially collapses during concrete mishap in New Haven"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NEW HAVEN, CONN. \u2013 A building under\u00a0construction\u00a0partially collapsed Friday in New Haven, Connecticut, when a concrete pour went awry, injuring eight workers, including two critically, city officials said, adding there were no fatalities.<\/p>\n

City firefighters and other authorities were called to Lafayette Street shortly after 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur units responded immediately within minutes and found several persons in varying degrees of injury, from broken bones to three that were partially buried under the rubble,\u201d Fire Chief John Alston Jr. said during a news conference.<\/p>\n

Firefighters used ladders and ropes to get to the victims through sharp, broken rebar and other debris, witnesses and officials said. Some victims were hoisted out of the deep hole in rescue baskets attached to ropes, while others were pulled out of the side of the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard a crash and we jumped up,\u201d said Danean Doheny, a medical assistant who was working on the fourth floor of a neighboring building and witnessed the rescues. \u201cIt was crazy. It was very emotional and scary. I\u2019m just glad everybody for the most part is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doheny said the concrete delivery equipment was still running for a time after the collapse, sending the\u00a0construction\u00a0mixture onto the injured workers in the hole.<\/p>\n

There were 36 people at the work site at the time, and all were accounted for, officials said. All eight injured people were\u00a0construction\u00a0workers. Six were pulled out of the building by firefighters, while two were able to escape on their own, officials said. Officials later brought in dogs to search the building for any other people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey 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,\u201d Mayor Justin Elicker said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Elicker said the property is owned by nearby Yale University and is being developed into what will be a seven-story residential building by RMS Companies, based in Stamford, Connecticut, which bills itself as a builder of \u201cupscale, modern apartments and luxurious boutique hotels\u201d on its website.<\/p>\n

The building is currently two stories high, with two parking levels underground. Plans call for 112 residential units, Elicker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a significant investigation as with any\u00a0construction\u00a0situation like this,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n

A person who answered the phone at RMS said the company was not commenting at this time.<\/p>\n

Investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the scene. City officials said they planned to issue a stop work order at the site until it is safe.<\/p>\n

Lafayette Street is a short distance from Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale School of Medicine and is home to several medical offices, about five blocks from the New Haven Green and Yale\u2019s main campus.<\/p>\n

Alston said city emergency officials had been talking about responding to building collapses in recent days, in response to the partial collapse of an apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, on Sunday that left three people missing and feared dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did some excellent work under some harrowing conditions,\u201d Alston said about New Haven first responders. \u201cI\u2019m very proud of that considering what happened in Iowa recently. We\u2019ve been talking about collapses in our area so they responded admirably.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a92023 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n