City given analysis of scaffold accident
Cause not cited, company says
The construction company in charge of the downtown Boston work site where this week's scaffolding collapse killed three people submitted the first detailed analysis of the accident yesterday, but city officials refused to release it until municipal engineers review the findings.
Though city officials have said the report would contain an explanation of the cause of Monday's fatal accident at the 14-story Emerson College dormitory renovation project on Boylston Street, Macomber's president and chief executive said yesterday its conclusions were more limited.
The report ''discusses what evidently happened, but not why it happened, as that is still speculation," John Macomber said in an e-mail. ''There are no 'conclusions' about the cause. That's up to [the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration] and other authorities."
With federal investigators not required to finish their probe until October, Macomber's response indicated the public may have to wait weeks or months for a definitive explanation of the collapse, which left many Boston residents questioning the safety of many construction sites.
Macomber said that the report contained sketches, photos, and a description of the accident, but that much of it dealt with ''plans for the continued use of the scaffolding and for the eventual disassembly of the scaffolding."
The report came in response to a building code citation from city officials, who charged Macomber with failing to protect public safety at the site. Before construction can resume on the Emerson project, city engineers must approve the report, which is also supposed to detail how Macomber would prevent another mishap.
''They need to have a plan that will make the work site safe going forward," said William Good, acting commissioner of the city Inspectional Services Department.
The accident, which happened while the 3-ton scaffold was being taken down, killed two workers who were on the platform, Romildo Silva, 27, and Robert Beane, 41, and one passing motorist, Dr. Michael Ty, 28.
Investigators are focusing on the disconnection of a metal tie that had secured the scaffold to the building, a high-ranking city official has said. The scaffold's maker said its safety standards say a construction crane should have been attached during the dismantling. But Bostonian Masonry, the subcontractor that employed the workers on the scaffold, disagreed that a crane was necessary.
Good said yesterday that the review might be completed and the report made public ''by early next week, maybe as early as Monday afternoon." Gary Moccia, the city's chief building inspector, will lead the review, said Good.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino had publicly demanded quick answers, but yesterday the requirements of the city's building code protocols prevented the report from being released, said the mayor's spokeswoman. ''The goal of this report was to ensure the safety of the work site. In order to do that, the city needs to examine the report and conclude if the work site can be reopened before releasing it to the public," said Jennifer Mehigan. 