EAST JORDAN, MI — Four construction workers from a Gaylord company were injured, some possibly seriously, in an accident at a construction site near East Jordan Thursday.
Around 11 a.m., crews from the East Jordan Fire Department, Jordan Valley EMS, East Jordan Police Department and Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a building collapse at 06710 M-32, just south of the East Jordan city limits in South Arm Township.
The project involves a 60-foot-by-120-foot addition to the former VFW post building. It is part of a plan by Crossroads Resale shop to relocate and expand its operation from its current location in the city, Charlevoix County Sheriff Chuck Vondra said.
Vondra said the accident happened as JNJ Construction, which is heading up the project, was placing trusses on top of the new stud walls when a gust of wind caused the trusses to give way.
Four construction crew members were on top of 10-foot walls when the trusses collapsed causing them to fall 10 to 12 feet and become trapped.
“A big wind gust came along, they heard some cracking, and the trusses gave out,” Vondra said. “(The workers) were trapped. They had to get them out from under the trusses. So, one of the workers cut some of the trusses up because people were trapped.”
Vondra did not know the exact injuries of the workers, but said all four men were transported to hospitals with moderate to possibly serious injuries. One victim had memory issues and all four had head trauma, officials at the scene said. A helicopter airlifted one victim to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, while the other three were transported by ambulance to Charlevoix or Petoskey hospitals.
The incident is being treated as a construction accident and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be pursuing an investigation.