1 Demolition Worker Killed In Brewerytown Building Collapse
Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook | Twitter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- 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 the 2600 block of Jefferson Street for 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.
New Jersey Trying To Ban Most Smoking On Public Beaches
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.
Video from Chopper 3 showed firefighters pulling one person from the rubble.
Jomo Day saw the row home fall and rushed to help a man trapped under the debris.
Tredyffrin Township Police Save Ducklings Trapped In Storm Drain
"I ran over to try to help him there but it was too late," said Day.
Figgs was in the back of the building, taking it apart brick-by-brick. Crews say that's procedure when dealing with a row home like this that's attached to other homes, but the floor beneath Figgs suddenly fell and the building collapsed on top of him.
"Real good guy, real good guy, give you the shirt off his back," said Wayne Johnson. "It's crazy, you're here today, gone tomorrow."
Authorities say a second crew member was inside at the home but able to escape and did not need any medical treatment. Investigators are now working to determine what lead up to the collapse.
"Buildings are complex structures, so it's going to take some time to find exactly what the cause was," said Philadelphia Fire Department Commissioner Adam Thiel.
Licenses and Inspections says the contractor did have a permit to demolish the structure, but some people are questioning how another deadly building collapse could happen, especially when Tuesday is five years since six people lost their lives in the Salvation Army building collapse on Market Street.
One of the demolition workers obtained an attorney who says it's difficult to know what went wrong until investigators release more information, but he believes Figg's death was likely preventable.
"I'm literally sickened to my stomach to see another collapse here in the city. It's unbelievable to me," said attorney Steve Wrigrizer. "This kind of thing could only happen if there is a flaw in the engineering survey that has to take place or a failure to execute the demolition plan properly."
Feeling Disgust Helps Us Stay Healthy, Study Says
The building is still deemed unstable.
Fire department officials are investigating.
