208th St. building collapse kills 1, injured 5
The job site at 94 E. 208th Street following the collapse. Miram Quin
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, AUGUST 30-BTR SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 7
BY ALEX MITCHELL
A man was killed and fi ve
others were injured after a
two-fl oor building partially
collapsed at 94 E. 208th Street
in Norwood on Tuesday, August
27.
The under construction
building buckled just before
noon, trapping workers inside
and on the property’s
fi rst fl oor, which received the
brunt of the unexpected structural
falter.
The brick building was
surrounded by construction
drapping and scaffolding at
the time of the collapse, which
fi refi ghters had to navigate
through during the rescue.
“There was a lot of rubble
and broken concrete blocks,
a lot of building material that
covered the area and we had
to dig through it to fi nd the
missing worker,” said FDNY
Chief of Special Operations
John Esposito while on the
scene.
FDNY members eventually
recovered the fatally injured
construction worker beneath
much of those collapsed
construction materials on its
ground fl oor, according to the
agency.
Upon an investigation to
the collapse, a NYC Department
of Buildings spokesperson
said, “this was a preventable
tragedy.”
The DOB determined that
the incomplete, under-construction
third story of the
building was overloaded with
concrete masonry blocks,
causing its collapse onto the
second fl oor and inadvertently
trapping the worker
who was killed, according to
the FDNY
“We had serious concerns
for our members on the scene.
We were concerned about the
second fl oor collapsing into
the fi rst fl oor during our operation.
We were able to build
shores and put struts in there
to support that load to make it
safe for the rescue efforts,” Esposito
said.
Out of the other fi ve workers
that suffered injuries, two
were reported to be in serious
condition while three faced
non-life threatening wounds.
Fortunately enough, none
of the 110 dispatched fi refi ghters
from over 30 units suffered
injuries while conducting the
special search and rescue operation.
Those members of New
York’s Bravest managed to
control the scene in just over
an hour, by 1:19 p.m.
The partially constructed
project was expected to reach
a total of four stories, containing
eight residential units,
which received approval from
the DOB on Saturday, January
4, while also receiving
newer permits in May, according
to the DOB.
The project’s general contractor
is Brooklyn-based Pioneer
General Construction.
Since the incident, the
DOB has issued a stop work
order at 94 E. 208th Street and
ordered ownership to secure
the property overnight to prevent
further damage.
“We will continue to investigate
this incident aggressively
and bring all appropriate
enforcement actions
against those responsible,”
that same DOB spokesperson
said.
The Bronx Times Reporter
contacted Pioneer General
Construction but did receive a
response prior to press time.