Connecticut construction worker "buried up to his knee" in collapse at 100-year-old home
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A Connecticut construction worker suffered a serious leg injury after part of a 100-year-old home's foundation collapsed onto him.
The home, built in 1920, was being rehabbed after a fire when massive stones suddenly collapsed to the floor, trapping the 35-year-old worker Monday morning, according to Bridgeport fire officials.
Construction worker was "buried up to his knee"
The worker's legs were stuck under a debris field of stone and dirt.
"He was in pain. He was buried up to his knee," Bridgeport Fire Lt. Gregory Prior said. "It's dark, it's dusty, it's unsafe, it's uneven. So there's a lot of challenges that we were up against."
After several tense hours, there was a noticeable sense of relief around the site on Stratford Avenue in the city's East End as the worker was put onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.
"It's at this point a very happy ending to what could have been a very terrible tragedy," Mayor Joe Ganim said.
"It took us a decent amount of time to get all of that material removed away so we could safely remove the individual," Bridgeport Fire Chief Lance Edwards said.
First responders used "strongback" supports to shore up the walls while they extricated the worker, Edwards said.
"He's still alive. That's all that counts right now."
A doctor provided pain medication to the construction worker while rescuers kept him calm until he was fully extricated from the danger.
"I just pray to God that he's OK. I know he'll probably go through a lot afterwards, but he's still alive. That's all that counts right now," said Cynthia Benton, a Bridgeport resident.
A federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator visited the scene and will determine if any workplace safety rules were violated.
A secondary collapse happened about an hour into the rescue operation. It caused more of a mess in the basement, but no other injuries, Prior said.
All construction at the site was suspended because of the risk of further collapse.