New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-11-22
THE BREAKING OF A sCAFFOLD.


A STRONG IOIST BROKEN BY SOME BRICKS CARE
IrssIY THROWN DowN-FoUR MEN INJURED II
BROAD-sT.
An accident occurred yesterday at the Mill,
Building in course Of erection in Broadst, opposite
the Stock Exchange, resulting in injuries to foui
workmen The men were engaged in building the
brick shaft for the stand-pipe to be used<for the
hydraulic elevators, and had advanced to the eighth
floor TO which height the building has been
carried At each floor "puttOcls" or joists were
placed across the shaft, distance of five or six
feet and only two three feet apart, the ends
resting in holes in the brickwork On these joists
which were about four inches square, was laid the
plank scafolding on which he bricklaycrs
stood Francis 81. Mahon. of No. 800 East Forty
sixth-st., Thomas Redman, of No. 80 Nassau-st.,
brooklyn Michael Cleary of No: BOG Seventh-st.,
Jersey CITY and Charles III Cochran, of No. II |
East Eighty-thrdst., all brickayers, were at work
Yesterday morning, shortly before II O'CLOCK, on
the scaitOidng at the eighth story. u. H. King IT,,
the contractor, had Just stepped OH OF tne scaHOu
ing when hOd-caTrier with load nj DrlcKs on ms
shoulder came up to the place where the men were
working and threw down the bricks heavily on the
scaffoldIng One of the Olsts supporting the
scatioldiag broke and the panks tipping mp, threw
the down the shaft One OF the men was
stopped by jOst at the sixth door, but the others
fell to the fourth floor. where another scatiold
arrested their descent.
The cries of the and the falling of the bricks
and planks of the scatfod called other workmen 10
the spot The men Were taken to the street anu an
ambulance was summoned from the Chambers
Street Hospital Cochran so slightly injured
that he was allowed to go home at once IN "a car
riage Mahon aud Cleary were taken to the Cham
hers Stree. Hospital and Redman was carried to
the Ne X-Yorl Hospital. Mahon who IS thirty
wears of age and a married man, was found 10 have
"a shoulder dislocated and 10 be severely bruised
about the face and on other portions of the body.
Michael Cleary, age forty, sustained fracture OF
the left collar bone and injured in the ribs and
back. Redman's leg was fractured below the knee.
Some of the injuries slight, and 1t is expected
that ali the men will recover
Contractor King, when questioned as to the occur
renee said: had been on the scafod shortly
before it broke 1t strongly constructed and in
the same manner as the other scaifOds iii the shaft
The accident was caused by the force with which
the mau threw the bricks dc VII. The labOrerS had
been directed not to throw bricks down from the
shoulder, but he dsobeyed orders. The scaitoid
would stand any weight resting on 1t, but the sud
den fall OF the bricks fractured the jost. The jar
caused by the fall Of the bricks would have broken
a timber that would stand a thousand pounds
weight
Michael j. Byrne. foreman of the masons. said
thar the iosts on which the scaitOld rested were
strong pieces of good spruce and that no ordinary
weight would break them. The other scatfoIds. he
said had been constructed in the same way and no
accident had occurred. Tie considered the disObe-
dence OF The hodcarrier to be the OF the accl
dent An experienced builder said that the mate
rial used for the support OF the scatod was snti-
cientlv strOng To have borne much heavier weight
than that OF the men and bricks with which it was
l0aQpd