3 people injured, 1 critically, after scaffolding collapses in downtown Fort Worth
Three people were injured, one of them critically, when scaffolding collapsed Wednesday afternoon in downtown Fort Worth, authorities said.
A 911 call made at 12:36 p.m. reported that scaffolding had collapsed in a construction area around the 200 block of Houston Street. Two people were reportedly trapped, authorities said.
“When we arrived on scene, we found a construction elevator on the outside had partially collapsed,” according to Mike Drivdahl of the Fort Worth Fire Department.
It wasn’t immediately known how or why the collapse occurred.
Drivdahl said the workers were resurfacing some of the brick exterior of the building when the collapse happened.
OSHA will take over the investigation to determine why the collapse occurred, Drivdahl said.
Sundance Square Management owns the building where the collapse occurred. A spokeswoman said they are getting in touch with the construction company to get more information.
The construction company, Whiting-Turner, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday night.
At 6:30 p.m., workers, some of whom wore Whiting-Turner vests, set up metal barricades around the block. The sidewalk under the collapsed scaffolding remained closed, as did the sidewalk around the corner, which is also beneath scaffolding.
Second Street remained closed between Houston and Throckmorton streets.
The city will not be investigating the collapse, Fort Worth spokesman Kevin Neal said.
“It’s a private development on private property,” Neal said. “We do inspections when a building first opens, but that building hasn’t opened yet. At this point, we don’t have a dog in this race.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2019 at 12:51 PM with the headline "3 people injured, 1 critically, after scaffolding collapses in downtown Fort Worth."
