Ironworkers get help handling friend's tragic death

Investigation of crane collapse to take months

Jay Clark of Jamaica Plain arrived early yesterday at union headquarters in South Boston for counseling about the death of fellow worker Robert Harvey Thursday in a crane accident. (Photos by George Rizer/Globe Staff)

QUINCY - Federal workplace safety inspectors were back at the Fore River Shipyard yesterday, searching for the cause of a crane collapse on Thursday that took the life of an ironworker from Weymouth.

Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called in after a project dismantling the giant crane, known as Goliath, went awry, sending a portion of the massive metal leg crashing to the ground and instantly killing Robert Harvey, 28, and causing minor injuries to four other workers.

OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said the federal agency won't complete its inquiry for several months. David Traub, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating's office said prosecutors will rely on federal investigators for the technical research into the death, which appears to be accidental.

According to city records, Quincy wiring inspector Thomas Purpura checked the site Aug. 8 and discovered that a temporary power supply had been built and that the power supply to Goliath had been cut without proper permits. City building officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The dismantling was being overseen by NorSar LLC, a company based in Washington state. Gregory Nordholm - the company's top official, who narrowly avoided being hit by the falling metal - could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In a statement issued by the company, Nordholm said the cause of the collapse was unknown, and they said the worksite and the partially dismantled crane do not pose a safety risk.

"Our thoughts and prayers at this sad time are with those who lost a loved one, or who have been hurt," the company said in a statement. "We are cooperating fully with all local, state, and federal authorities and agencies."

Yesterday, Harvey's fellow ironworkers gathered at the Iron Workers Union Local 7 union hall in South Boston to mourn the death of their friend and colleague.

Inside the building, members of an assistance program talked to the workers about losing Harvey - everybody here called him Bobby - and how to cope with the loss.

"In the past, we never did this," said Jim Coyle, a union member and general agent for Boston Building Trades.

"These guys are going to carry it with them. These guys are in shambles."

The accident, he said, was a "tragedy that spread beyond the family."

Jay Randall, Harvey's work partner, pulled into the union's parking lot in his red GMC Sierra. Before he stepped out of the truck, he tried to pull himself together. His head fell into his hands more than once, and a woman in the passenger's side seat, his girlfriend, rubbed his shoulders.

"Bobby was a great guy; he was always full of life," Randall said, his mouth trembling, sunglasses hiding his eyes. "He was all about ironwork and everything about ironwork."

Randall was next to Harvey when the metal crushed his body. It was hard coming in, he said. And then he couldn't say much more. He went inside to meet the counselors.

Word about Harvey's death traveled fast yesterday, said Jay Clark, another one of his friends in the ironworkers' union. "As soon as it happened, I got a phone call."

He sighed. His eyes were red.

"He was one of the good guys."

Clark played on an ironworkers' hockey team with Harvey. "He was a good stick," said Clark, who serves as captain. "He was one of the fastest skaters, so I made him play defense."

In the back of the union hall parking lot stands a memorial to fallen ironworkers. It is made of three rusting beams. Two stand tall and firm. The third has lost hold of its concrete base and has tilted, caught in mid-fall by the other two. Fallen but supported.

"It's the bond we have as ironworkers," said Michael Durant, Local 7's business agent. "Everybody bonding together in the morning prior to the start of the job. We're going miss him."

John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report.