This blog presents Metropolitan Engineering Consulting & Forensics (MEC&F) claim management and claim investigation analyses of some of the typical claims we handle
HOUSTON, TX - The National Hurricane Center released Thursday its official 76-page report on Hurricane Harvey and its impacts on Texas and the rest of the United States.
According to the NHC, Harvey’s rains caused catastrophic flooding, making it the second-most costly hurricane in U.S. history, after accounting for inflation, behind only Katrina in 2005.
"The latest NOAA damage estimate from Harvey is $125 billion, with the 90% confidence interval ranging from $90 to $160 billion. The mid-point of the estimate would tie Katrina (2005) as the costliest United States tropical cyclone, which was also $125 billion."
“At least 68 people died from the direct effects of the storm in Texas, the largest number of direct deaths from a tropical cyclone in that state since 1919,” the report stated.
In August 2017, Harvey rapidly intensified into a category 4 hurricane before making landfall along the middle Texas coast. The storm stalled, with its center over or near the Texas coast for four days, “dropping historic amounts of rainfall of more than 60 inches over southeastern Texas.”
“Harvey was the most significant tropical cyclone rainfall event in United States history, both in scope and peak rainfall amounts, since reliable rainfall records began around the 1880s. The highest storm total rainfall report from Harvey was 60.58 inches near Nederland, Texas, with another report of 60.54 inches from near Groves, Texas.”
At least 160,000 structures were flooded in Harris and Galveston counties, according to the NHC report.
Outside of the Houston area, serious flood damage was reported farther east in Jefferson, Orange, Hardin and Tyler counties, with about 110,000 structures flooded.
Other notes from the NHC report:
“In Fort Bend County, major flooding occurred with both the Brazos and San Bernard Rivers experiencing record floods. Major-to-record flooding occurred along the Brazos River from Richmond to Rosharon. Significant home flooding occurred in areas of Simonton, Richmond, Rosenburg, and Thompsons. Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated due to levee concerns and restrictions. Major-to-record flooding also occurred on the San Bernard River at both East Bernard and Boling, with the hardest hit area being Tierra Grande. At least 8,500 homes in this county were damaged by Harvey.
In Brazoria County, the Brazos and San Bernard Rivers experienced record water levels, which caused widespread floods across the county. The hardest hit communities were in Baileys Prairie, Richard and West Columbia. Widespread major flooding on the Brazos River and Oyster Creek led to numerous roads and homes flooding in Columbia Lakes, Mallard Lakes, Great Lakes, Riverside Estates and the Bar X Ranch subdivisions, as well as homes on CR 39. Flooding damaged the bridge over Cow Creek at CR 25, making it impassable. Major flooding also occurred along the San Bernard River at Sweeny with widespread inundation of the west floodplain. The Phillips 66 refinery took on water near Little Linville Bayou. Hanson Riverside Park was inundated, and water overtopped the Phillips Terminal, halting all vessel traffic. High flows from the Brazos and San Bernard Rivers caused navigation problems for several weeks. Over 9,000 homes experienced flood damage from the storm.
In Wharton County, widespread catastrophic flooding occurred from both the Colorado and San Bernard Rivers, causing Highway 59 to close between Hungerford and El Campo. The flooding inundated areas of Wharton, with hundreds of homes and businesses under water in many communities including Hobben Oaks, Bear Bottom, Elm Grove, River Valley and Pecan Valley. Other areas such as Glenflora, Peach Acres and the Orchard were hard hit. Major-to-record flooding also occurred on the San Bernard River at both East Bernard and Boling, with the hardest hits areas being El Lobo and New Gulf. Major lowland flooding occurred with many homes (including some on the second-story) and businesses being inundated, and the cotton crop was decimated. An estimated 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the county.
Major lowland flooding occurred in Matagorda County along the Tres Palacios River. Many roadways were under water, and homes in the El Dorado Country, Oak Grove, and Tres Palacios Oaks subdivisions flooded. Major flooding also occurred on the Colorado River at Bay City as levees were overtopped by 2 ft of water. High flows from the Colorado and Tres Palacios Rivers impacted river navigation for several weeks. Roughly 2,900 homes were damaged in the county. In San Jacinto County, major lowland flooding occurred on the Trinity River near Goodrich with damage and debris noted near the boat ramp and channel in proximity to the river gauge. Major flooding occurred upstream near Lake Livingston, with roads and many homes south of the lake being inundated. About 3,300 homes were damaged in the county.
Major-to-record flooding occurred in Liberty County along the Trinity River with numerous roads inundated including FM 787. Many homes and subdivisions were either cut off or inundated, specifically north of the city of Liberty and in the Grenada Lakes Estates subdivision. Significant damage occurred along the banks of the river due to high flows and several utility lines were severed due to the loss of poles in the vicinity of the Romayor gauge. Record river levels were also observed on the east fork of the San Jacinto River causing significant flooding in Cleveland, Williams and Plum Grove. High flows caused significant scouring of the state 105 (business) road; other roads were washed out as well, with bridge washouts or closures observed in many parts of the county. At least 1,000 homes were damaged in the county.
In Chambers County, record floods over the lowlands occurred along the Trinity River. Cedar Bayou was out of its banks in many locations, with significant flooding observed in Baytown. Numerous roads and homes were inundated across the county, including extensive flooding in the Milam Bend subdivision. High flows from the Trinity River impacted the navigation community for several weeks. An estimated 3,000 homes were damaged, and numerous businesses had significant damage.”
Charges against the Yonkers contractor who allegedly accidentally set fire to an Elmhurst apartment building last April, displacing 175 residents and injuring 11 firefighters, have been dropped.
According to court records provided by his attorney, Declan Mcelhatton will no longer face a fourth-degree arson and second-degree reckless endangerment rap after Assistant District Attorney Charissa Ilardi moved in court last Tuesday for the case to be dismissed.
“While we do believe there was probable cause for the fire marshals to make the arrest,” Illardi said, according to court records, “at this time we do not believe we are able to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Mcelhatton, 53, was arrested two days after a fire broke out at 56-11 94 St., two blocks north of the Queens Center mall, on April 11.
The five-alarm blaze damaged or destroyed 112 apartments, forcing the American Red Cross to temporarily convert nearby PS 13 into a shelter for displaced families.
According to the original criminal complaint against him, McElhatton was contracted to work on the building’s roof. The roofing materials he allegedly tried to apply were not supposed to be subjected to heat, and his alleged improper use of a blow torch started the fire.
Dozens of building tenants filed a lawsuit against the management company and the city a few months later in an effort to have an independent administrator oversee the repairs being made to the building and ensure rents could not be raised.
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Yonkers man charged with arson in Elmhurst fire
More than 150 people were displaced in Tuesday's five-alarm blaze
Photo courtesy FDNY
Yonkers resident Declan Mcelhatton has been charged with arson in connection with Tuesday's five-alarm fire in Elmhurst.
Posted: Thursday, April 13, 2017 11:48 am
by Christopher Barca / Associate Editor
UPDATE:
Charges against Declan Mcelhatton were dropped on Jan. 16, 2018 after Assistant District Attorney Charissa Ilardi moved in court to have the case dismissed.
"At this time, we do not believe we are able to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt," Ilardi said, according to court records.
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A Yonkers man has been charged with arson and reckless endangerment in connection with Tuesday's five-alarm fire that heavily damaged a seven-story Elmhurst apartment building.
According to the FDNY, 53-year-old Declan Mcelhatton allegedly left combustible materials near an open flame in the cockloft of 56-11 94 St., two blocks behind the Queens Center mall, causing an inferno that injured 11 firefighters and displaced 175 people.
Reports, citing the authorities, said Mcelhatton is an employee of Maintenance Asset Management and had been doing work at the building the day the blaze started.
The fire destroyed 112 apartments and according to the Red Cross, 15 of the 67 displaced families spent Tuesday night sleeping at nearby PS 13, which the organization converted into a temporarily shelter.
Two hundred firefighters responded to the blaze, which broke out around 6:30 p.m., extinguishing it shortly before midnight.
Autopsies complete for 3 killed in boat explosion, investigation into cause continues
January 22, 2018 WPSD Staff
MARSHALL COUNTY, KY – Autopsies have been completed for the three people killed when a towboat exploded Friday in Marshall County.
Preliminary findings say each victim died from injuries suffered during the explosion.
A memorial service will soon be announced for one of the victims, Timothy Wright of Calvert City. Wright’s obituary says he worked as a welder for first marine in Calvert City. Lindsey Funeral Home of Paducah is in charge of arrangements.
These photos show James Lang (left) and Jimmy Lang.
Six people were injured in the blast. Among them were father and son Jimmy and James Lang.
The pair are contract workers who were on the upper deck of the towboat when the explosion happened.
We’ve been in contact with Willie Lang, who is Jimmy’s brother. Willie said James has burns all over his hands and face, as well as a broken foot. He said James underwent surgery over the weekend, and he is recovering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Overall, Willie said said James is doing well.
Willie told us Jimmy is in stable condition Deaconess Midtown Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. Jimmy has several broken bones and internal injuries, including a collapsed lung. He’s out of surgery and doing well. Doctors plan to try to take his ventilator out Tuesday.
Kentucky State Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the cause of the explosion.
KSP spokesman Trooper Jody Cash says troopers are mostly gathering information at this time, and the more technical side of the investigation is in OSHA’s hands. Local 6’s Leah Shields reached out to OSHA during the day Monday, but she got an outgoing message that said they would not be able to get back to her Monday because of the government shutdown. Monday night, President Donald Trump signed a bill reopening the government.
State police confirm that OSHA investigators have been on scene since Friday. Cash says he’s been told that, even if some segments of OSHA were in limbo due to the shutdown, the investigation department continues.
So far, they are still working to find out the cause.
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KSP: No early indication of foul play in boat explosion on Tennessee River
January 19, 2018 Krystle Callais, Leanne Fuller
UPDATE: Kentucky State Police Post 1 has released more information about a boat explosion that killed three people and injured six others on the Tennessee River in Marshall County Friday morning.
In a news release sent Friday afternoon, KSP says the call reporting the explosion came in at 9:17 a.m. The boat was docked on a dry dock on Hollinger Road. More than a dozen local and state agencies responded. Not long after, state police were called in to investigate. The state law enforcement agency says its preliminary investigation shows the explosion happened inside the docked boat, which was being worked on at the time, and there is no early indication of foul play.
Troopers say some of the people hurt in the explosion suffered life-threatening injuries. The names of the people killed in the blast are not being released until authorities have notified their families.
KSP says the agencies that responded to the explosion were the Calvert City Fire Department, the Gilbertsville Fire Department, the East Marshall Fire Department, the Palma-Briensburg Fire Department, the Marshall County Rescue Squad, the Marshall County Office of Emergency Management, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, the Calvert City Police Department, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Marshall County Ambulance Service, Livingston County EMS, Murray-Calloway County Ambulance Service, Mercy regional EMS, and Air Evac.
The U.S. Coast Guard has also been on the scene, and KSP says an investigator with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is expected to arrive soon.
The investigation is expected to go on into the night hours.
Local 6 reporter Bryce Mansfield brought us a briefing from KSP Detective Jody Cash live on Facebook Friday afternoon. If you missed it, you can watch that video below.
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MARSHALL COUNTY, KY – An explosion aboard the William E. Strait, a dry docked tow boat, Friday morning killed three and injured six. When the incident happened, 41 crew members were working on the vessel, according to Kentucky State Police, but not all of them were on the boat.
The boat was on Hollinger Road, along the Tennessee River.
The dock is owned by First Marine. The boat is owned by Smithland Towing. According to maritime-executive.com, it was previously owned by Western Rivers Boat Management in Paducah. Friday is not the boat’s first accident.
The “William E. Strait” sank 20 feet into the Mississippi River in December 2015. Photo: WMC-TV
Memphis NBC affiliate, WMC-TV, reported in Dec. 2015 that the boat collided with another boat, causing it to sink 20 feet into the Mississippi River.
Brandon Langston is a friend to Tim Wright, the Calvert City man who died in the explosion. He says about Wright: “He was one of the greatest guys I knew. I worked with him a few years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting his wife, Rosey, as well. He was always in a good mood and always willing to help anyone. He will be missed by a bunch of people.”
Langston says Wright was “always involved in the toy runs for kids, always willing to do for others, and one of the greatest people you could ever meet.”
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky sent us this statement Friday night: “Kelley and I are saddened to hear about the tragic explosion in Calvert City this morning. Our thoughts, support, and prayers are with the victims and families of those who were lost.”
Drilling contractor in Quinton explosion had OSHA violations in past By Samuel Hardiman Tulsa World
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched an investigation into what caused a drilling rig explosion Monday that left five dead in Pittsburg County.
Patterson-UTI Energy, the drilling firm working the rig, has had a handful of OSHA inspection violations in Oklahoma over the past 10 years. The federal agency has conducted 12 inspections of Patterson-UTI rigs and facilities in Oklahoma over the past decade and found four separate violations, according to an OSHA inspection database. However, the company isn’t among the most frequent drilling company violators in Oklahoma during that time, records show.
OSHA confirmed the investigation Tuesday, but declined to comment further.
The agency is responsible for enforcing laws and regulations governing workplace safety and health. It conducts inspections of workplaces involved in oil and gas drilling and servicing operations as it does with other industries.
“The people of Patterson-UTI are our primary focus, and keeping them safe at the well site is always our primary focus. ... We’ve operated across North America for a long time ... and for the past few years we’ve been one of the safest companies in the industry,” said Patterson-UTI President and CEO Andy Hendricks at a news conference.
In a later interview with the Tulsa World, Hendricks cited an industry benchmark for safety and said his firm exceeds that.
“For instance, the International Association of Drilling Contractors on a quarterly basis publishes the organization’s overall safety performance, and for years now … our incident reporting rate has been lower than the industry average,” Hendricks said. “Outside of the tragic event this week ... we were making good progress.”
Hendricks said the rig had gone to work for Red Mountain Energy, the operator of the site, in December.
A search of records over the past 10 years shows no instance of the site being inspected. Patterson-UTI has 30 rigs operating in Oklahoma, according to the Houston-based company’s website.
“We won’t speculate on the investigation at this point, but we will work with OSHA ... to begin the investigation because we want to learn from this,” Hendricks said at the news conference. He said that the national Chemical Safety Board, which often investigates similar incidents, had contacted the company.
“We will work with them,” Hendricks said. He said no regulator had contacted the company about suspending other operations.
A CSB spokeswoman said in an email, “The CSB is sending two investigators to gather additional information in order to determine if the CSB will be pursuing a full investigation.”
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission investigation report said authorities learned at 8:45 a.m. Monday that the well was on fire from an uncontrolled gas release.
The report recommends that the operator should kill the well with heavy drilling mud, make sure it is stabilized with mud and cement plugs, and take soil samples by Feb. 23.
Fatalities among oil and gas extraction workers in Oklahoma are relatively rare. Seven workers in the industry died between 2011 and 2016, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics database.
One worker was killed in Boley in 2017. Someone was injured in a separate Pittsburg County explosion in 2017, according to media reports.
A workplace safety expert with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, Peter Dooley, said work in the oilfield is inherently dangerous.
“The thing that investigators need to be really looking is if there any sort of foreshadowing events ... that indicated possible problems and how they were responded to,” he said. “That’s going to be the most informative information.”
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A fiery explosion at an Oklahoma drilling rig Monday left five people missing, including three employees of the rig's owner, Patterson-UTI Energy of Houston.
The explosion cut through the Patterson-UTI rig just before 9 a.m. Monday, according to Oklahoma authorities, and the Houston driller confirmed that three of its workers were among the missing at the Pittsburg County natural gas well site. Patterson-UTI said the fire's cause was still unknown.
"At this moment, no one knows with certainty what happened, and it would be unwise to speculate," Andy Hendricks, Patterson-UTI's chief executive, said in a statement. "Well control experts and emergency responders are on-site, and we will conduct a thorough investigation when the incident is fully contained. "
Hendricks, who was traveling to Oklahoma, said the company was providing support to the families of the missing, whose names have not been released.
"There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our employees and others we partner with in the field," Hendricks said. "Tonight, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected and their loved ones."
Aerial footage showed several fires were still burning by midday on the rig and much of the equipment had collapsed, the Associated Press reported.
"Pretty much everything that is on location is on fire," Pittsburg County Emergency Management Director Kevin Enloe said during an afternoon news conference.
Patterson-UTI has grown in recent years into one of the nation's largest onshore drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, companies. Patterson-UTI has about 25 drilling rigs active in Oklahoma, second only to Texas, where it has nearly 60 rigs in operation.
The incident occurred at the site of one of Patterson-UTI's more modern APEX 1500 rigs, described as a "light, safe and efficient rapid deployment rig." More than 20 people were working at the well site when the explosion occurred west of Quinton, about 100 miles southeast of Tulsa, authorities said.
Confirmation of any fatalities won't be possible until the fire is extinguished and investigators can get to the scene, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma medical examiner's office. Authorities said they are still searching the surrounding woods to see if anyone had fled into the area.
The drilling site was operated by Oklahoma City-based Red Mountain Operating, said Matt Skinner, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates oil and gas operators in the state. Red Mountain did not immediately comment.
Skinner said the company has not had any incidents or complaints in the last five years.
A construction worker died from his injuries Tuesday after a large concrete column broke free and hit him in the head at the former Labor Temple Hall at South 29th Street and First Avenue South.
The man had been standing under the column when it hit him in the head, Billings Police Sgt. Harley Cagle said at the scene.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the incident at about 8:30 a.m., and the man was unconscious as he was being loaded into an American Medical Response ambulance at the construction site.
In an email sent shortly before 5 p.m., Fisher Construction Inc. President Jim Berve said a worker "succumbed to his injuries."
The company wrote on its Facebook page: "We have extended our deepest sympathies to the family and are offering as much support to the family as they need to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy."
The company is investigating the incident.
Fisher Construction Inc. co-owner Brent Sumner confirmed Tuesday morning the man was an employee. Fisher Construction is the general contractor for the Community Leadership & Development Inc. housing project, which includes a renovation of portions of the historic building.
The foreman at the scene declined to comment.
The construction crew did not appear to be working on the concrete column, which was part of the former Labor Temple Hall exterior, Cagle said.
"They were trying to remove it at some point, they'd chipped away at it, and it came down on its own," Cagle said after speaking with construction workers at the scene.
The man had been wearing a hard hat at the time, Cagle said.
The former Labor Temple Hall is being renovated as part of the low-income housing project, which was announced in November 2016. Construction began last summer, and is being completed with a $1.1 million grant from the Gianforte Family Foundation.
Traffic was partially blocked at the busy intersection Tuesday morning as police and medical personnel responded to the incident. Billings Fire Department also responded.
The construction industry has one of the highest rates of workplace injuries in Montana, which in 2016 had the fourth-highest overall workplace injury rate among U.S. states for which data was available.
The 2016 statewide rate was 4.2 injuries for every 100 full-time workers, compared with a nationwide rate of 2.9. Within the construction industry, Montana's injury rate was 4.9 per 100 full-time workers.
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The old Labor Temple Hall on Billings’ South Side isn’t going to remain a shell of its former self for much longer.
Community Leadership and Development Inc., a faith-based nonprofit development agency with a track record of constructing housing and providing services to people in need, has purchased the building and is preparing to abate the lead and asbestos inside the century-old hall and begin demolishing portions of it.
What will emerge — about $2.8 million and maybe nine months later — will be a dozen new efficiency apartments, priced below market rates; space for the ministry’s offices, which are now in two buildings; increased capacity for Hannah House Ministries, which serves low-income women and their children; and, perhaps, a business incubator or an old-fashioned community meeting spot in keeping with the history of the Labor Temple Hall, at 24 S. 29th St.
CLDI purchased the dilapidated building in September, said Eric Basye, the agency’s executive director, and already has the money on hand for abatement, demolition and design work, which is being done by Collaborative Design Architects.
The agency is raising money to renovate the hall and construct the new apartments, which will be built on two new floors planned to rise above the hall.
Stockman Bank will match up to $25,000 in donations to help with the work. Visit www.cldibillings.org or call CLDI at 406-256-3002 before Dec. 31 to have your donation matched by the bank.
“This is something we’ve been dreaming about for two years,” Basye said Thursday during a tour of the 14,000-square-foot hall, which has been, in turn, rooms to rent (1889-1912), a Chinese laundry and grocery store (beginning in 1912), a wholesale candy building (through 1944) and, since that time, the Labor Temple Hall. A grocery store also operated on the property after World War II through 1958.
According to a history compiled by CLDI’s Lisa Reinschmidt, 25 labor unions were represented and housed in the cavernous hall, which was also used for community gatherings such as quinceaneras (the celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday), funerals, wakes and baby showers.
Reclaiming and restoring the hall, reconstructing the sidewalks and constructing off-street parking “not only mirrors its historical past,” Reinschmidt wrote, “but also seeks to recreate what was once a place of pride, fellowship and community in the South Side.”
Reinschmidt, who runs Hannah House and handles development for CLDI, said that opening up more space for Hannah House, at 109 S. 32nd St., will enable the ministry to serve 15 women at a time, up from eight.
“We now have one room open, and we got nine applications for it in five days,” she said.
The benefits of the planned new facility “are too numerous to nail down,” she said, but they include proximity to needed services, including RiverStone Health, case management through Family Promise and downtown employment opportunities, including cleaning positions at downtown hotels.
“A lot of women we work with don’t drive,” she said. “They have to get to work on foot and come home in the dark of night.”
“Our goal,” she said of the expanded facilities, “is to get women off of receiving services and restore their dignity.”
As he showed off CLDI’s future home, Basye paused inside a large, empty room that practically calls out to be transformed into a community center.
“We’re doing a community survey about how this space can best be used,” he said, and the results of the survey will influence how the space gets transformed.
One option, he said, is a community work space to house small businesses. Tenants could pay rent on a sliding scale.
An extended area in the hall's basement once was the longest bar in Montana, Basye said. It features an old concrete safe, proof that plenty of money changed hands there.
Back in the day, Basye said, parents would bring their children to the bar to enjoy a few drinks and maybe a meal while children played in a separate area.
While CLDI doesn’t plan to open any bars soon, Basye said it’s that kind of community togetherness that the agency will be trying to recreate at the new site.
The project is called Katapheugo, an ancient Greek term that refers to people fleeing for refuge. That’s a “fitting definition,” according to Reinschmidt, as the agency “seeks to offer refuge and hope in a marginalized community.”
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Community group has big plans for old labor temple By: Ed Kemmick | February 17, 2017
Ed Kemmick/Last Best News
Community Leadership and Development Inc. has big plans for the old Labor Temple Hall at First Avenue South and South 29th Street.
Eric Basye was expecting as many as 80 volunteers to come down to the old Labor Temple Hall on South 29th Street on Saturday for what he’s calling “our first official demo day.”
Basye is the director of Community Leadership and Development Inc., a Christian organization that works on the South Side of Billings under the slogan “Rebuilding Lives, Restoring Families, Re-Neighboring Communities.”
The demolition work will be going on inside the old Labor Temple Hall, a solid brick building at 29th and First Avenue South that has 14,000 square feet between the ground floor and the basement.
CLDI’s plan is to use the long-abandoned building as its new headquarters, a community gathering space and, after adding two floors to the eastern half of the building, 14 to 16 affordable apartments.
Moving the organization’s offices from their current location, a few blocks away at 109½ S. 32nd St., would allow for an expansion of CLDI’s Hannah House program, which provides housing and life-skills training for women in crisis. The program already occupies two houses on the property in front of the CLDI offices.
Those plans evolved as the search for a building continued. At one point, Basye said, they thought they would be able to buy the old Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on South 29th Street. After that fell through, he said, “we looked at a ton of different buildings” before settling on the renovated Crane Building, a block west of the Labor Temple Hall on First Avenue. But the asking price was too much, so they settled at last on the labor building. It was a decision Basye was happy with.
“We had the opportunity to rehabilitate a building that was literally falling apart,” he said.
Built in 1889, it was used as a boarding house, Chinese laundry and grocery store, a warehouse and then a labor temple. In recent years it had been used for storage by Southside Pawn. Karri Hallock, CLDI’s financial administrator and property manager, said the building hadn’t been connected to city water since 2001.
The CLDI bought the building in September and has been working with Collaborative Design Architects since then on asbestos abatement, demolition plans and a design for the expanded building.
Ed Kemmick/Last Best News
CLDI Director Eric Basye, left, talks about the Labor Temple Hall project with CLDI employees Karri Hallock, Drew Thompson and Steve Houlihan.
On demolition day Saturday, the plan is to rip out everything from ceiling tiles to walls, leaving only one structural wall in the middle of half the ground floor. The western half of the ground floor and the same half of the basement would be connected by a stairwell and used for a community gathering space, and also available for event rental.
Creating affordable housing has been the main focus of the CLDI since its founding in 1981 by former state legislator Dave Hagstrom.
Basye said the most recent estimate of the entire Labor Temple Hall project is $3.25 million. The CLDI already has about $1.9 million, mostly in the form of local donations and grants from private foundations.
That total also includes a $200,000 grant from the Downtown Billings Alliance, which would be used for abatement and construction of infrastructure like sidewalks, curbs and gutters. That grant, though, still needs to be approved by the City Council, Basye said.
Plans call for making a parking area out of a vacant lot on the north side of the building and moving the main entrance from South 29th Street to the north side.
Basye said the organization is still working with the architects on final plans for the renovation and is working internally to decide exactly what will end up in the building. They’ve got some time to figure that out.
He said the CLDI hopes to obtain final city approval for its building plans by March and then to start construction by May or June. Construction will probably take 12 to 18 months, he said.
Tuesday, January 23, 201 KIPS BAY, Manhattan (WABC) --
An elevator repairman, Jucong Wu, 33, fell to his death in an elevator shaft in Kips Bay Tuesday morning.
It happened inside 111 E. 24th Street just after 9 a.m.
The 33-year-old man was trying to repair the elevator at a construction site when he lost his balance and inadvertently fell from the ninth floor.
He was apparently installing an elevator car at a new, 12-story hotel project and was not tied off to a fall-protection safety line.
The worker was employed by U-Tek Elevator, Inc.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
About 20 complaints had been registered against the building in the past year, but none are currently open.
The Department of Buildings has issued a full stop-work order for the site.
The NYPD and DOB are investigating his death.
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Manhattan construction worker dies after fall down elevator shaft, FDNY says
By Nicole Brown nicole.brown@amny.com
January 23, 2018
A construction worker died after falling down an elevator shaft at a building in the Flatiron District Tuesday morning, police said.
Jucong Wu, 33, was installing an elevator car on the ninth floor of 111 East 24th St., between Park and Lexington avenues, at about 8:50 a.m. when he fell, according to police.
He was found unconscious at the bottom of the shaft and pronounced dead at the scene, the FDNY and NYPD said.
Wu, who was employed by U-Tek Elevator Inc., was not tied to a safety line, the Department of Buildings said.
The building, owned by SCIPM East 24 LLC, is slated to be a 12-story hotel.
Multiple people, possibly members of Wu’s family, were crying at the scene after his body was removed from the building.
Workers at nearby construction sites carried on with their jobs as NYPD and DOB officials investigated.
The DOB issued a full stop work order for the site, which did not have any open violations as of Tuesday, a spokeswoman said. Trinity Builders Inc., the building’s general contractor, was issued more than 20 violations for the site in the past two years that have since closed, according to DOB records.
There were also multiple complaints about unsafe conditions at the site, including workers not using safety straps, in 2017, DOB records show.
U-Tek Elevator Inc. and Trinity Builders Inc. did not immediately comment. SCIPM East 24 LLC declined to comment.
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A 33-year-old construction worker died at a job site in Manhattan after tumbling nine stories in an elevator shaft, officials said.
Ju Cong Wu wasn’t attached to a safety line when he plummeted nearly 100 feet just before 9 a.m. at the E. 24th St. site near Park Ave. in Gramercy Park.
The Brooklyn man, who worked for U-Tek Elevator, died at the scene.
He was among a group of workers installing an elevator car in a new 12-story hotel project.
Workers emerged from the jobsite weeping.
“No one's telling us anything right now. We're just concerned for the worker,” said Joe, a foreman with Local 1 Elevator Constructors, who went to the site from another job.
He said the Gramercy construction site was non-union.
“I don't know what caused the accident, I wish I did,” he said. “No one’s telling us anything right now. What they’re probably going to do is try to hide up as much as possible.”
He added, “We're trying to get answers, see what happened, what caused this terrible freakin’ tragedy.”
Department of Buildings inspectors issued a stop-work order at the site as an investigation was launched. The man plummeted to his death in an elevator shaft at a construction site on E. 24th St. near Park Ave. on Tuesday. (Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News)
The construction site has been the subject of 17 other complaints to the Department of Buildings over the past year, records show.
In August, there were two safety complaints. In April, someone filed a complaint that said workers were not wearing safety equipment. A complaint in March stated that debris was unsecured and flying off the building.
All of the prior complaints have been closed.
“We have no statement for now,” a U-Teck official said.
There were 12 construction deaths in 2017, officials said. The Tuesday morning death was the first in 2018.
Gary LaBarbara, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council, decried the death.
“Once again, a construction worker's life is tragically lost and a family is in mourning in New York City,” he said. “After a fatality last month and now another today, we are asking the City to immediately convene the Construction Safety Task Force that was part of legislation passed in the City Council last year and address this out of control epidemic.”
An Edgewater man was arrested and accused of stealing more than $40,000 from the local fire department while serving as its treasurer, authorities announced on Wednesday.
Samuel M. DeNorchia, 57, was arrested Wednesday in Paramus after he allegedly wrote checks to himself from the Edgewater Volunteer Fire Department using its funds, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. The estimated $40,000 total came between March 2016 and November 2017.
DeNorchia served as chief of the department from from 1993 to 2002, according to Edgewater's municipal website. No one answered a call made to the department Wednesday evening.
He served as chief when the department transitioned from paid to volunteer in 1995.
The department website has an S. DeNorchia and an S. DeNorchia Jr. listed as members.
DeNorchia was charged with theft by deception and has a court appearance scheduled for Jan. 17.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The cause of Wednesday’s fire that claimed the life of a 56-year-old city woman was the improper use or disposal of smoking materials, officials said.
The fire at 282 Tinkham St. started on a mattress in a second-floor bedroom where Agnes Leite was found, said Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for the state Fire Marshal’s office.
Leite was known to roll her own cigarettes, which are not required to be fire resistant as commercially produced cigarettes are, Mieth said. All cigarettes sold in Massachusetts must be “Fire Standard Compliant” and resist ignition when not being actively smoked.
After police removed six occupants from the multi-family home in the city’s near North End, firefighters forced open the woman’s bedroom door and found her lying unresponsive on the floor, Fire Chief Michael Gomes said. The chief believes she may have collapsed in front of the bedroom door.
The woman, who did not have a pulse, was carried out of the burning building and New Bedford paramedics performed cardi-pulmonary resuscitation on her. Paramedics also performed advanced life support measures to revive her, but those also failed.
Paramedics administered a cyanide antidote to the victim and were able to resuscitate her, but she died later at the hospital, Mieth said. Cyanide is one of the toxic, deadly gases produced when household furnishings burn.
“I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of Ms. Leite,” Chief Gomes said.
The announcement of the fire’s cause was made by State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey, New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro and Gomes. The fire was jointly investigated by members of the New Bedford Fire and Police Departments and State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) — A woman died Thursday morning after she’d been rushed to the hospital the day before from a house fire on Tinkham Street in New Bedford.
The fire broke out on the second story of the triple-decker just before 2 a.m. Wednesday. Firefighters found 56-year-old Agnes Leite unconscious in a bedroom on the second floor. Leite was later determined to have second-degree burns on 20 percent of her body.
“By the time I tried to go in her room, her whole room was just like just filled with smoke and fire fighters were trying to get us out of the house,” Leite’s son, Adam told Eyewitness News.
Agnes Leite was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital, where authorities said she was given a new drug intravenously that’s designed to treat smoke inhalation.
“It was the first time we used it here in the city, which they call a cyanide antidote,” New Bedford Fire Chief Michael Gomes said.
Agnes Leite regained a pulse and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence to be treated there, but died the next morning.
“She’s just a good woman, she loved everybody. Didn’t judge anybody, really good heart, worked hard,” Adam Leite said. “Too many things I wish I could tell her. I just want to be able to see her again, never mind talk to her.”
Eight residents were displaced from the building and the American Red Cross was called in to assist them with housing. Gomes said the apartment did not have working smoke detectors.
At last check, the fire’s cause was still under investigation.
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NEW BEDFORD, MA (WHDH) - A New Bedford police officer is being hailed a hero after he rescued six people from a burning apartment building. However, among the saving was tragedy.
The fire broke out on Tinkham Street Wednesday.
Smoke filled a woman’s whole room as cops and firefighters worked to get all the residents out of the building.
Firefighters discovered a woman unconscious on the second flood and rushed her to the hospital.
On the way, first responders tried a new drug to treat her smoke inhalation.
“The first time we used it here in the city, they called it a syano antidote,” said Fire Chief Michael Gomes.
In spite of their efforts, the woman later died at a Rhode Island hospital.
Her family is devastated.
“Too many things I wish I can tell her. I just want to be able to see her again and never mind talk to her,” said Adam Leite, the victim’s son.
Fire officials said the apartment did not have working smoke detectors.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Agnes (Ferro) Leite, 56, of New Bedford, passed away Wednesday January 17, 2018 at Rhode Island Hospital. She was the wife of Luis A. Leite and daughter of the late Manuel and Deolinda (Arruda) Ferro.
She was born in Lombo da Batal, St. Michael, Azores and had lived in New Bedford for many years. Mrs. Leite was formerly employed as a stitcher in the garment industry.
Survivors include her husband; her sons, Nathan Leite, Craig Leite and Adam Leite all of New Bedford; her brother, Antonio Ferro of Natick; her sisters, Maria Emilia Ferro of Nashua NH, Maria Fatima Tavares of Fall River, Maria Carmo Campos of New Bedford and Maria Manuela Pacheco of New Bedford; her granddaughter, Madison Leite.
She was the sister of the late Ernesto Ferro.
She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Her visitation will be Tuesday morning from 9:00 until 12:00pm when her funeral service will be held at the Boulevard Funeral Home, 223 Ashley Blvd. Burial will immediately follow at Pine Grove Cemetery. For directions and guest book please visit www.boulevardfh.com.
Officials say a worker at an Ames hydraulic motors manufacturer has died in a work-related accident.
Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the Danfoss Power Solutions employee died after suffering injuries around 4 p.m. Thursday while at work. A Danfoss news release says the employee was taken to Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames and pronounced dead.
The identity of the employee and details of the accident have not yet been released. The plant says it's investigating along with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials.The company halted all production operations at the plant until further notice.
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AMES, Iowa —
Danfoss Power Solutions officials said an employee died after suffering an injury while working at the Ames plant.
“At approximately 4:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, a Danfoss employee suffered injuries while at work during the second shift of operations at our 13th Street location in Ames. The employee was taken to Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, where the employee was pronounced dead.”
The plant is located at 2400 East 13th Street.
“We are continuing to investigate, along with OSHA officials, to determine the specific details associated with the incident.”
The company is halting all production operations at our 13th Street location and Airport Road location until further notice.
The identity of the employee has not yet been released pending family notifications. The company is making onsite grief counseling services available to employees.
According to a release, "Danfoss Power Solutions is a world-class provider of mobile hydraulics for the construction, agriculture and other off-highway vehicle markets, providing driving power to our changing world. Danfoss employs approximately 1,000 employees in Ames, producing components that serve the off-highway hydraulics industry – including hydraulic motors, pumps and steering units."
3 Coloradans among 5 killed in helicopter crash in northern New Mexico
January 18, 2018
RATON, N.M. — A helicopter crashed in a mountainous rural area of northern New Mexico, killing five people, three of them from Colorado, and seriously injuring the sixth person aboard, a New Mexico State Police spokeswoman said Thursday.
Authorities said key Zimbabwean opposition leader Roy Bennett of Colorado and South Africa was killed in the crash. Details of why the 60-year-old Bennett was in the area weren’t immediately available.
Also killed were pilot Jamie Coleman Dodd, 57, of Trinidad; Eileen Bennett, 55, of Colorado; co-pilot Paul Cobb, 67, of Conroe, Texas; and Charles Ryland Burnett, 61, of Houston.
Lt. Elizabeth Armijo said the helicopter went down about 6 p.m. Wednesday about 15 miles east of the small city of Raton near the Colorado state line.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said the helicopter was a Huey UH-1. Information on its registration was not available, Lunsford said.
Huey helicopters are flown for individuals, businesses and government agencies.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, and agency spokesman Eric Weiss an NTSB investigator was expected to arrive at the crash site late Thursday.
Born in England, Burnett was an investor and philanthropist with links to a wide range of businesses and a love of entertaining friends extravagantly.
Burnett was based in Houston and listed as an officer in dozens of companies registered with the Texas secretary of state’s office.
The Guardian newspaper reported in 2009 that he drove a steam-powered car at an average speed of 139.8 mph, setting a world record.
He purchased the Emery Gap Ranch, a sprawling, mountainous property on the Colorado-New Mexico border, in February, said Sam Middleton, a real estate broker in Lubbock, Texas, who worked with Burnett on the purchase. That’s where the group was headed Wednesday.
Middleton on Thursday recalled being invited to Burnett’s 60th birthday party at another ranch he had helped the wealthy businessman purchase. A dance floor and lights powered by a generator were set up on a pasture, with guests brought in by bus and a film crew hired to document the party.
“He had a lot of fun, and he had a lot of people around him all the time,” Middleton said.
He was in a long-term relationship with Andra Cobb, the only survivor of the crash and daughter of Paul Cobb, who was the co-pilot of the helicopter. Burnett was friends with the elder Cobb and the others aboard.
Cobb was shot down while flying a helicopter in the Vietnam War, according to his wife, Martha.
He went on to serve as a police officer for three decades in the Houston suburb of Pasadena, Texas, rising to police chief until his retirement in 2004.
Cobb flew a historic Vietnam-era helicopter during an event to celebrate the Fourth of July in 2016, according to Houston television station KTRK.
Martyn Hill, Burnett’s personal attorney, described Cobb as an experienced, cautious pilot who had “survived many battles.”
“He was a great person as well,” Hill said.
Martha Cobb said her daughter told her after the crash that she passed at least one body on the ground as she tried to escape, before the helicopter burst into flames.
“She’s just very distraught,” Cobb said in a telephone interview. “I’m just glad my daughter is OK, but I hate that my husband of 41 years is gone.”
Dodd was a decorated search and rescue pilot who plucked people to safety in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and during one flood season, rented a helicopter on his day off to help rescue dogs stranded on rooftops.
“He was a natural pilot. He was so good at it. When he was in search and rescue, he saved countless lives,” said Jacqueline Dodd, his wife of 25 years, describing him as an adrenaline junkie.
Her husband, who went by J.C., received the national “Jeep Hero” award in 2006 for his search and rescue efforts.
He donated the award, a new Jeep Commander, to a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless, according to the website of the New Mexico Military Institute, where he went in the mid- to late 1970s.
“He was the kind of guy that you just wanted to be your friend,” Jacqueline Dodd said. “He was above reproach. He was just such a good person.”
Since September, he had worked as Burnett’s private pilot at the Emery Gap Ranch, she said. She and her husband filed separation papers in December after he moved to Trinidad the previous September.
“He took that job against all my wishes,” said Jacqueline Dodd, who lives in Applegate, California, in the foothills northeast of Sacramento.
Her husband enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1979.
Dodd transferred to the Army’s Warrant Officer Flight School in 1983 and was later assigned to Howard Air Force Base in Panama, flying medical evacuation missions throughout Central and South America, according to New Mexico Military Institute website.
Dodd moved back and joined the California Highway Patrol in 1990, where he was a search and rescue helicopter pilot. He was inducted into the institute’s Hall of Fame in October 2010.
Roy Bennett, 60, was a founding member of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, who angered former President Robert Mugabe by winning a parliamentary seat in a rural constituency despite being white.
Bennett, who spoke fluent Shona, was earthy and engaging and won a devoted following of black Zimbabweans for passionately advocating political change.
He was known as “Pachedu,” meaning “one of us” in Shona and was often called the sharpest thorn in Mugabe’s side.
At one point, his successful coffee farm in eastern Zimbabwe was seized by war veterans. One of Bennett’s farmworkers was killed by the invaders and wife Heather miscarried after the assault.
In 2004, Bennett was jailed for a year for assaulting a Cabinet minister who had said Bennett’s “forefathers were thieves and murderers” during a debate. He emerged thin and told of prisoners’ mistreatment.
Bennett fled Zimbabwe after receiving death threats but came back in 2009 after being nominated for the deputy agriculture minister in a coalition government with Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.
The strongman accepted other opposition leaders into his Cabinet, but he refused to swear in Bennett.
Bennett later returned to South Africa but remained a vocal critic of Mugabe’s rule.
Date: 17-JAN-2018 Time: 18:00 LT Type: Bell UH-1H Iroquois Owner/operator: Sapphire Aviation LLC Registration: N658H C/n / msn: 67-17658 Fatalities: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 6 Other fatalities: 0 Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: East of Raton Municipal Airport (KRTN), Raton, NM - United States of America Phase: En route Nature: Private Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative: The helicopter with six occupants crashed under unknown circumstances. The aircraft was destroyed by the impact forces and subsequent fire. Five occupants died in the crash, one occupant was seriously injured.
Roy Bennett, opposition leader, a Zimbabwean coffee grower, four other people, his wife, Eileen Heather Bennett, 55, a passenger from Texas, and the helicopter’s pilot and co-pilot died in their private helicopter.
British-born investor and world record holder Charles Burnett III was among five people killed.
OSHA cites, fines outfitter in kayaker death last summer
Buckrail
Posted On January 16, 2018
JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited an outfitter in the death of a young kayaker guide on Yellowstone Lake last June.
OSHA listed eight safety violations and fines totaling $38,672
against OARS in the accidental death of Timothy Hayden Ryan Conant, 23,
of Salt Lake City on June 14, 2017. Timothy Hayden Ryan ConantConant was guiding nine clients along with two other guides. One of
the clients fell into the frigid waters of West Thumb. Conant also fell
in attempting a rescue and succumbed to the conditions. He died of
exposure and hypothermia. The client was rescued by another guide.
OSHA said the company should have had a more senior guide on the
water. With 45 days experience, Conant was the longest tenured employee
on the excursion. OSHA also said the guides were insufficiently trained
and clothed.
OSHA’s Fatal Alert bulletin:
On June 14, 2017, three kayak guides were leading a party of nine
clients on Yellowstone Lake. The guide service supplied all gear and
Kayaks to the clients. The guided trip was to the West Thumb geyser
basin and then back to the Grants Village Marina.
On the return trip from the West Thumb geyser basin a client’s kayak
capsized. The three guides got the client back into his kayak and were
struggling to get him back to the shoreline. At this point, guide one’s
kayak capsized. Guide two took the client to shore while guide three
attempted to help guide one into his boat. Two clients of the party came
and helped get guide two and the client to shore.
Client two then went to help guide one and guide three. After client
three was sure guide two and client one were okay, client three took
guide two’s kayak out to help with guide one and three. With the two
clients help guide one was pulled out of the water.
The party was rescued by the National park service water Rangers and
transported to the marina where guide one was pronounced dead as a
result of exposure and hypothermia.
Significant factors
The three guides on the water the day of the incident were all first
year guides with the longest tenured guide being the deceased at 45
days.
The guides were not trained in self or buddy rescue techniques for kayaks.
The guides were using everyday clothing for extremity protection.
The guides were not familiar with the company’s emergency response procedures.
Recommendations
The employer should evaluate the rescue training provided to its
guides, as well as the training used to familiarize new guides with
their duties within the company’s emergency response plan.
The employer should reevaluate their PPE policy specific to Yellowstone Lake.
==============================
JACKSON HOLE, WYO – A kayaker has died in Yellowstone National Park.
Guide Timothy Hayden Ryan Conant, 23, from Salt Lake City died while attempting to rescue a client who capsized on Wednesday, June 14. The incident occurred in the West Thumb area of Yellowstone Lake.
The kayaking group consisted of nine clients and three guides. After receiving a call through the park’s dispatch center, rangers responded to the scene in a patrol boat and found the victim in the water. They brought him on board and immediately started CPR while in route back to the dock. CPR continued as Conant was transported to the helipad at Grant Village via ambulance (approximately a half-mile from the dock). A Life Flight landed to assist, but Conant was pronounced dead before taking off.
The client who Conant attempted to save was rescued by other guides in the group and brought to shore before rangers arrived. The client was transported to the park clinic and treated for hypothermia. The incident is still under investigation.
“Our hearts are with the Conant family after this terrible loss,” said superintendent Dan Wenk.
Conant worked as a guide for Oars, a company based out of Angel Camp, California. Oars has offered non-motorized boat tours in Yellowstone under a permit since 1996. This was Conant’s first season working for Oars as a guide.
Since 1894, there have been 41 deaths in Yellowstone Lake. The most recent was in 1997 when two people died while canoeing. With a surface area of 132 square miles, Yellowstone Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the United States that is above 7,000 feet. It is roughly 20 miles long and 14 miles wide with 141 miles of shoreline. The average year-round temperature of the lake is 43F. Survival time is estimated to be only 20 to 30 minutes in water of this temperature.
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Timothy Hayden Ryan Conant, age 23, summer kayak guide of Wyoming, passed away on June 14, 2017.
Tim was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 26, 1993 to Steven B. Conant and Molly C. Ryan. Tim lived in SLC as a youth and again since 2012, graduating from the University of Utah with degrees in History and Anthropology in Spring 2017. Tim attended grade school and high school in Anchorage, Alaska graduating from South High in 2012.
Tim lived and breathed skiing with his closest friends! You could always find him talking about a recent trip or planning his next one. Tim loved adventures in the outdoors and especially liked clean mountain air.
Tim worked as a ski instructor for several years throughout school and was looking forward to working with ski patrol and doing more backcountry skiing with special friend Glenn Vitucci of Tetonia.
Tim had a love and adventure for life that touched everyone he met. He taught others through example, of the selfless life, ultimately giving his to save another. His life and friendship he shared has spread a ripple of love throughout the community of his family and friends that leaves us saddened at his departure and happy that he awaits us in a place of love where all tears will be wiped away.
Tim was preceded in death by his sister, Hailey Ryan Conant, and his Grandparents Kathryn and James Ryan.
He is survived by his parents Molly and Kyle James and Steven Conant, Grandparents Elsie and Roger Conant, Uncle Doug (Leigh) Conant, Uncle Hayden (Melissa) Conant, Uncle Jay (Lisa) Conant, Uncle B. Tim Ryan, and Aunt Susan (Jack) McCabe, Aunt Sheila (Duane) Kerber. He also leaves behind his cousins: Ben, Tyler, and Sarah Conant, Miles Conant, Lindsay and Dylan Conant, Kathryn Manoly and John Ryan, Margaret Kerber and Krista (David) Chaich.
