Two separate incidents; three workers killed.
Yesterday will go down as one of the worst in recent US demolition history. In the space of 24 hours, the industry claimed three lives in two separate and deadly incidents.
Two workers were killed after falling down an elevator shaft in downtown St. Louis. The accident occurred inside the Old Shoe Company building in the 1500 block of Washington Avenue around 11:15 am local time.
City of St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards told reporters at the scene the victims were cutting pipe when the cable snapped and they fell down six floors in the elevator shaft. They were reportedly inside a basket that was connected to a safety cable when the incident occurred.
The building was still in the demolition phase of a $25 million renovation project to be converted into a hotel by Fe Equus, a Milwaukee based development company.
Workers with World Wrecking, a subcontractor for Gencorp Services that works on demolition and asbestos abate, were involved in the accidents. OSHA was called to the project site for a complaint involving Gencorp in 2013, the agency said.
IN a separate incident, a demolition worker was killed following a building collapse of a row home in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia on Monday morning.
The fire department was called out to a building collapse around 10:50 a.m. for reports of two people trapped. Demolition crews from Gama wrecking were working on the building when it came down.
Police say two contractors were working on the building when the rear of the property collapsed, trapping them. One person was able to escape while the other, a 60-year-old man, was trapped under the rubble. He was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.
The family identified the victim as 59-year-old Harvey Lee Figgs. His family had just celebrated his birthday on Sunday.
