Workers jump to safety after North Reading scaffolding collapse

By Sarah Gantz, Globe Correspondent

Several construction workers were forced to jump to safety when high winds collapsed a portion of a scaffolding at a North Reading building site, fire officials said.

Firefighters responded shortly before 2 p.m. today to the Route 28 site of a future Walgreens, where scaffolding had fallen about 20 feet onto a construction trailer, said Fire Capt. Donald Cooke.

No injuries were reported. Vision Builders, the project's Framingham-based contractor, will have to completely remove and rebuild the scaffolding, which could cost thousands of dollars, Cooke said.

There was no apparent damage to the concrete base of the building, Cooke said. Local building inspectors and Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating the incident.

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