Jones Gore Photo
A worker caulking a window outside the new Novella luxury apartments at the corner of Chapel and Howe Streets fell today when a strong wind dislodged his scaffolding.
The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m.
The wind shifted the scaffolding, causing the worker to fall, according to Assistant Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli; because the worker was roped in, he didn’t hit the ground.
Coworkers on the job pulled the man through an open window into a vacant apartment, to safety, Marcarelli said. Neither the man nor anyone else got hurt.
Firefighters were concerned that the scaffolding might all fall on electrical wires, so electricity was cut off to the surrounding neighborhood for a while. Firefighters then “secured the scaffolding to the building” and disassembled it, at which point the power was turned back on, Marcarelli said.
The workers at the site “didn’t really seem like they were experienced in what they were doing,” Marcarelli said. “They didn’t cleat the scaffolding into the building at intervals. It was really unstable. The cleats pulled away from the building.”
He said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) “will be looking at the safety of the operation.”
The $40 million, 136-unit Novella, where rents go as high as $3,000 a month, officially opened Oct. 20 on a former surface parking lot in what was once New Haven’s red-light district. It’s not yet fully occupied.
In June, before the opening, the state Department of Labor temporarily shut down work on the project citing violations by five subcontractors.
Building owner Randy Salvatore said workers were in the process of disassembling the scaffolding when the incident occured. “Construction can be hazardous. Fortunately, he was wearing his harness.”
NHFD
The pictured poles are supposed to be straight, according to Marcarelli.