1 dead, 3 injured when wall collapses at construction site in Lower Manhattan
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NEW YORK - A worker died and three others were injured after a wall collapsed at a construction site in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.
Tuesday night, a "stop work order" was posted at the scene of the deadly accident -- 126 Lafayette St., a three-story building that was being dismantled.
The third floor was already gone, leaving the second open to the sky. That's where a rear wall collapsed. Tons of falling rubble killed one worker, while others tumbled off a scaffold and were injured.
FDNY was at the scene in under five minutes.
"They were able to use hand tools and their own hands to remove the debris quickly and remove them. There was no special extrication needed," FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said.
The worker who died was employed by RJB Contracting Carting of Woodside, Queens. The company had permits to do the demolition but also issues doing the work.
The Department of Buildings slapped the company with a partial stop work order in February, citing multiple violations. They were corrected and work resumed three days later.
The department says a preliminary review indicates Tuesday's fatal accident happened when a support beam was overloaded and collapsed, opening a hole in the second floor and causing debris to fall all the way to the first.
This was the first construction site death of 2023 in New York City. Last year, 11 hardhats died on the job.
Stop work order posted
A stop work order has been posted at the Lower Manhattan construction site where a worker was killed Tuesday.
It cites "failure to safeguard during demolition operations."
More details of the collapse revealed
It happened around 1 p.m. at 126 Lafayette Street.
A three story building, constructed in 1915, was being taken down for new development.
The third floor was previously removed. Workers with RJB Contracting Carting Corp. were on the second floor when a rear wall collapsed.
One worker was crushed under the falling debris. Other workers on a scaffolding above him fell and were injured.
"Our fire units were here in less than four minutes. They quickly assess the situation, and were able to dig out the trapped construction worker pretty quickly and get him into the hands of the paramedics," said FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens. "They were able to use hand tools and their own hands to remove the debris quickly. There was no special extrication needed."
The contractor had permits to dismantle the building, but also had some issues. A partial stop work order was issued a month ago for various violations including overloading the first floor. Work was allowed to resume three days later, and the DOB says Tuesday's incident appears to be unrelated to those earlier violations.
We do not yet have the name of the worker who died.
Construction is a dangerous job. Last year, 11 hardhats died on the job in New York City. Tuesday's death is the first so far in 2023.
Officials: 1 dead in collapse
The Department of Buildings says a worker has died of their injuries following the collapse.
The collapse took place at a demolition work site.
Workers were demoing the second floor when a wall collapsed onto them.
It's the first construction site fatality this year.
Back in February, a partial stop worker order was issued due to five violations at the site, including:
- Failure to remove hazardous materials and fixtures prior to the start of demolition.
- Sprinklers removed from the building, out of sequence of the demolition plans.
- Tarps unsafely hanging from the scaffold.
- Construction shanty not constructed out of fireproof material.
- Storing 50 tons of construction material on the first floor, which was overloading the floor.
The stop work order was lifted a few days later after the violations were corrected and a DOB inspection determined the site was safe.
The DOB says Tuesday's collapse appears unrelated to any of the previous violations.
First details released
Four people have been injured in a wall collapse at a construction site in Lower Manhattan.
"When the wall collapsed, one of the construction workers was trapped by the debris, and two of the workers fell on top of the debris, and one other person was injured," said FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens.
The person that was buried was rushed to Bellevue Hospital with life-threatening injuries, Hodgens said.
Firefighters were on the scene within four minutes of the first call.
"The firefighters were able to get to where the victim was trapped. They were able to use hand tools and their own hands to remove the debris quickly and remove them," Hodgens said.
The Department of Buildings has inspectors on the scene.
The site was issued five safety violations in February, Acting Department of Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.
The initial investigation suggests that the floor of the construction site was overloaded with debris, and the initial collapse brought down the floor beams and a vertical wall.
"This is a very unfortunate accident," Vilenchik said.
The MTA says N, R, W, Q, J, Z trains are running at 5 MPH in the area.
