City awaits report on fatal collapse

Macomber Builders, the South Boston firm in charge of the Emerson College construction site where scaffolding collapsed Monday and killed three people, failed to meet a 4 p.m. deadline yesterday to file a report with the City of Boston about the incident.

City officials said the company contacted them yesterday, and they expected the report to be filed in the next several days.

Officials from the city's Inspectional Services Department charged the company on Tuesday with failing to protect public safety at the site, a building code violation that prevents the firm from resuming work on the dormitory, scheduled to open in September, until the department receives the report explaining what happened and outlining a safety plan to prevent future collapses.

''Each day that goes by without ISD approval is a day that Macomber is not working on the work site," said Seth Gitell, spokesman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

A spokeswoman for Macomber said yesterday that the firm was still gathering information about Monday's accident. Bostonian Masonry, a subcontractor that employed two construction workers who died in the collapse, declined to comment yesterday. Though the masonry firm's workers were operating the scaffold at the time of the accident, Macomber is the lead firm at the site and thus responsible for managing safety there, city officials said.

Three workers were dismantling the scaffolding shortly after 1 p.m. Monday when it toppled. The foreman, 41-year-old Robert Beane, and a laborer, 27-year-old Romildo Silva, fell to their deaths on Boylston Street. The 3-ton scaffolding landed on a Honda sedan, killing the driver, 28-year-old Dr. Michael Ty.

Federal investigators yesterday continued to examine evidence taken from the accident site. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is leading the probe and may eventually fine one or more of the companies involved.

OSHA, by law, has six months to complete its work.

''We have an open inspection, and we can't discuss the specifics," OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said. ''It's so soon after the accident, we can't even ballpark a time-line."

Two of the victims' families released statements yesterday filled with incredulity and grief, and their disparate communities joined in mourning their loss.

''He loved his life and he loved his family and friends," said a statement from Silva's family in Somerville, where the hard-working Brazilian immigrant harbored dreams of one day opening a hair salon. ''It is still hard to even imagine that he won't be coming home to us, and we know there are hard times to come for all the families affected by this accident."

Silva's labor union announced it had established a memorial fund in his name to support his family. For many fellow laborers, Silva's death was a stark reminder of the daily risk on the job.

''We never forget that we often work in a dangerous environment," said Louis A. Mandarini Jr., business manager of Local 22 of the Laborers' International Union of North America. ''We will mourn and grieve his passing and will never forget him."

Ty's family released a statement recalling a brilliant and compassionate man.

''Michael's humble willingness to serve others and his devotion were an inspiration to all who were graced by his presence," the statement said.

Ty, a Harvard-trained physician, had been working in a neurology training program at both Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Brigham's president, Dr. Gary Gottlieb, and Mass. General's president, Dr. Peter Slavin, , in a joint statement, recalled Ty as ''a selfless and compassionate physician who labored unceasingly to serve his patients and colleagues."

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com. Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com.