On April 23, 1987, the worst construction accident for nearly a decade occurred in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The incident would spark much debate, a lot of pointing fingers, and eventually, new regulations concerning methods of building construction. You may remember what happened from memory, or if you live in Bridgeport, then you’ve probably heard the ringing of the fireman’s bell in memorandum. One ring for each year that has passed, so that we never forget.
28 workers lost their lives when the west building of a 17 million dollar apartment project collapsed.
yy yeung/Flickr Huge concrete slabs that were being lifted came crashing down on top of the workers, but investigations revealed no certain answers on what caused the accident.
Hundreds of emergency response workers, along with thermal imaging cameras, joined forces to dig in the rubble for survivors.
Daren/Flickr The streets were incredibly congested as locals and loved ones looked on. The New York Times interviewed a man living across the street, Jesus Rivera, who was quoted saying “I heard a boom and there were clouds of smoke. I felt the shaking right before it collapsed and I thought it was this building.” The search effort lasted 10 days.
This unfortunate event occured just 5 days before Worker’s Memorial Day, which honors those who have been injured or killed on the job.
CT Senate Democrats/Flickr The tragic event at L’Ambiance Plaza has paved the way for safer practices and hopefully we won’t see anymore events like this.
Bridgeport lives on, and is still the most populous city in the state.
Matt Otto/Flickr The community rallied around the affected families and pushed for the new regulations that have made working in construction a lot less risky. So, props to this city for creating change and responding well under pressure. Never forget the lives that have been lost in building these beautiful cities.
Here you can see some of the first images released on the news at the time of the event.
yy yeung/Flickr
Huge concrete slabs that were being lifted came crashing down on top of the workers, but investigations revealed no certain answers on what caused the accident.
Daren/Flickr
The streets were incredibly congested as locals and loved ones looked on. The New York Times interviewed a man living across the street, Jesus Rivera, who was quoted saying “I heard a boom and there were clouds of smoke. I felt the shaking right before it collapsed and I thought it was this building.” The search effort lasted 10 days.
CT Senate Democrats/Flickr
The tragic event at L’Ambiance Plaza has paved the way for safer practices and hopefully we won’t see anymore events like this.
Matt Otto/Flickr
The community rallied around the affected families and pushed for the new regulations that have made working in construction a lot less risky. So, props to this city for creating change and responding well under pressure. Never forget the lives that have been lost in building these beautiful cities.
And here you can see the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) press conference that was held after the incident. OSHA would ultimately impose upwards of 5 million dollars in fees against the companies found responsible.
Do you remember this fateful day in history?
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