Workers were pouring 4M pounds of concrete as building collapsed
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NEW HAVEN — Workers were pouring 4 million pounds of concrete when a building under construction on Lafayette Street collapsed Friday, injuring eight, an official said.
At least two of the injured are in critical condition at Yale New Haven Hospital, with one of the two stable but still critical, a city official said. Another two may be listed as critical after doctors review the results of scans, said the city's director of emergency operations, Rick Fontana. Saturday morning, Fontana said he did not have updates on the conditions of all eight workers who were rescued at the scene of the collapse at 188 Lafayette St.
The workers had poured about three-quarters of 4.2 million pounds of concrete on a second-floor slab when the floor collapsed into the first floor and basement, trapping several workers, city officials said. The amount of work they completed had an accumulated weight of about 3.2 million pounds, Fontana said.
It took about 45 minutes for the fire department to rescue six workers trapped and injured from the collapsed concrete and reinforcement metal bars. A Connecticut State Police K-9 followed up with a search of the debris to make sure no one had been left behind, Fontana said.
Mayor Justin Elicker said Friday the city has started a review to ensure the construction permit process was done properly.
“Typically, on a site like this, it is complex when we do the property because they have a third-party inspection company as well on site,” the mayor said. “And we’re reviewing that as well.”
A stop-work order has been issued to the construction company, he said.
Elicker said there will be a “significant investigation” moving forward.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the site, officials said. New Haven police will also conduct an investigation, fire Chief John Alston said.
RMS Companies owns the building and is developing the project, while Yale University owns the land, city officials said.
Company founder and CEO Randy Salvatore said in a statement issued Saturday that the safety of his construction crews was their "top priority."
"Our thoughts are focused on a full recovery for those who were injured, and we greatly appreciate the heroic work of the first responders," Salvatore said. "We will continue to work with our safety team and all of the appropriate government agencies to fully investigate the incident.”
The building is one of several that RMS is working on or has completed in the New Haven area, according to the company's website. Billed as 112 luxury apartments at City Crossing, the building at 188 Lafayette St. that collapsed was to be seven stories high with a two-story underground garage area and a one-story above-ground garage, city officials said.
RMS is a commercial real estate developer that manages the development, construction and sale of its properties, according to its website. In New Haven, the company also developed Pierpoint at City Crossing at 9 Tower Lane with 223 luxury apartments, Aura at City Crossing at 2 Washington Ave. with 104 apartments, and has ventures in Stamford, Norwalk, Hartford and New Jersey, according to its website.
Friday at the scene, witnesses reported hearing a "boom" and then seeing the building collapse.
“Two people got up, and they saw that there was a hole in the roof of what they’re doing, and we can see one guy hanging on, and they were trying to get him up,” said Danean Doheny, who works in a nearby building. “All of a sudden, it was just chaos, and there was just police, fire, ambulances, fire trucks with ladders. They looked like they were pretty dire.”
In total, 36 workers were at the building when it collapsed, city officials said.
“Victims had to be lifted out before the concrete hardened,” Alston said Friday.
Three people were partially buried in the rubble, he said.
The concrete may have pooled faster than workers could smooth it out, causing the collapse, Alston said.
Source: New Haven Register
