After jolt, worker rescued from Convention Center roof

November 7, 2008 10:54 AM Email| Comments (3)| Text size – +

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

Boston firefighters and emergency medical workers had to lower a construction worker from the roof of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center this morning after he was jolted by a blast of electricity.

At about 8 a.m., the construction worker, who was not identified and is in his 50s, was welding with a machine that runs on electric current when he was shocked, emergency officials said.

The welder complained of chest pains to the firefighter working on detail on the roof, said Steven MacDonald, spokesman for the fire department. Fearing he could be suffering from a heart attack, the firefighter called for assistance and emergency officials rushed to the roof, MacDonald said.

It took 45 minutes to lower the man, who was strapped to a wire basket, through the roof hatch and maneuver him vertically down a ladder to the landing, emergency officials said.

"It's a slow methodical procedure to move him off the roof to get him to the ambulance and to do it while at the same time monitoring his vital conditions, making sure he's still getting his medical care," MacDonald said.

The worker's condition improved by the time he reached the ambulance, said Dean Serpa, spokesman for the convention center.

He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, and it appears he will be okay, said Richard Serino, chief of Boston Emergency Medical Services.