Woman Hurt In North End Chimney Collapse
NORTH END (CBS) -- Boston firefighters rushed to the roof of a building overnight to rescue a woman after the chimney holding up her hammock collapsed on top of her.
Fire officials said the woman and another person were lying in the hammock on the roof of the Charter Street apartment building around midnight.
One end of the hammock was tied around a pole, and the other to a chimney--which they say collapsed on the 21-year-old woman.
"I live on the top floor, so I heard a very loud bang and the building shook," one resident said.
"It was just a really big thump," said another.
Paramedics treated the woman on the roof, while firefighters used a ladder to get to the top of the four-story building.
Boston EMS Deputy Superintendent Ed Hassan told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe the firefighters were able to strap her to a stretcher, and then carefully lower the stretcher down four stories using an aerial tower.
She was placed in an ambulance and rushed to the hospital, where she's being treated for serious injuries.
The chimney was part of an apartment on Foster Street, and fell onto the Charter Street building.
But the owners of both buildings said the tenants shouldn't have been on the roof at all.
Signs posted inside one of the buildings explicitly warned residents to stay off of the roof--except to use it as a fire escape.
"I feel like people take their own risks here," said one resident. "I hope whatever happened to whoever is okay."
A building inspector will assess the damage and determine exactly what happened to the chimney.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports