A Southwest Utility Systems worker died while installing a new water and sewer line inside a manhole in northwest Cape Coral.

CAPE CORAL, FLORIDA

A Southwest Utility Systems worker died Friday afternoon while installing a new water and sewer line beneath a manhole in northwest Cape Coral.

The name of the man had not been released Friday afternoon.

About a dozen of the man’s family and friends gathered at what was believed to be a construction accident. Two women could be seen sobbing about 20 feet from where the man died as paramedics spent almost two hours working to recover his body, which had been submerged under water, according to a witness.

“He was a great guy,” said a man who wouldn't give his name but acknowledged he knew the dead man. “That’s all you need to write. Short and simple. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body.”

Just before noon, Paula and Derek Rabe were working from their home, just north of Mariner High School and Tropicana Parkway on the 800 block of Northwest 13th Avenue, when a utilities worker had knocked on their door.

“It took me a little time to get up and go to the door,” Paula Rabe said. “I walked out, and he was standing by his truck, and I said, ‘Can I help you?’ He said his friend had passed out. I went and got my phone and called 911. I looked down and saw he was underwater.”

Southwest Utilities declined to comment. It took an hour and 45 minutes from the noon 911 call until paramedics removed the body from the hole at the foot of the Rabe’s driveway and into an ambulance. The paramedics covered the man’s body and walked slowly with the stretcher before loading it.

Fire trucks from South Trail, Iona McGregor and Cape Coral responded to the scene, where rain sprinkled as paramedics and firefighters recovered the body.

Rabe said the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced the man had died before she even called for help.

Cape Coral Police spokesman Dana Coston, who arrived to the scene after the body had been moved, said he was not sure whether the man had fallen into the hole or had suffered a medical problem while in the hole. But Rabe said she was almost certain the man had been in the hole – meaning he did not fall – and passed out because of a lack of oxygen.

“The things that come to my mind is that he was down there and had a heart attack or that he passed out from the lack of oxygen and he passed out from that,” said Rabe, who is a registered nurse. Once he quit breathing, he must have fell under the water, she said.

“He was definitely under the water," she said. "In those situations without oxygen, your body just shuts down.”

While waiting for paradmedics, Derek Rabe attempted to get the man above water with the end of a broom, but the broom couldn’t reach him, Paula Rabe said.


“Shortly thereafter, a bunch of construction workers pulled up,” she said. “They were trying to pull him out. Then the police came and the fire truck came. I think they were able to quickly ascertain that he had passed.

“Luckily, I haven’t dealt with much death in my nursing career, but it’s still traumatic.”

A number of family members of the man, including his son-in-law and two nephews, declined to comment, saying they needed time to grieve.

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CAPE CORAL, Fla. -

A utility worker died Friday along NE 13th Avenue in Cape Coral.

The man was working in a manhole when he became unconscious, according to a report.

It is unclear at this time if the man died as a result of a work-related accident or if it was due to medical reasons.

The worker is an employee of the Utility Extension Project contractors in Cape Coral and is not a city contract employee.

OSHA is currently investigating.

Residents in the area should expect to see police and EMS on the scene for the next several hours.

No further information has been provided at this time.

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Cape residents concerned over speeding near utilities project

The Utilities Expansion Project in northern Cape Coral is raising safety concerns among residents as drivers speed down dirt roads.

Residents who live near the intersection of Northwest 3rd Terrace and Northwest 7th Avenue are frustrated and said nothing is being done to prevent drivers from exceeding the speed limit.

“People that cut through this part of Cape Coral, they don’t believe in following the speed signs at all,” resident John Black said.

The Cape Coral Police Department said they’re aware of the construction zones and are patrolling the area.


Crews are digging up roads to install water, sewer and irrigation lines — the goal is to eventually hook up homes to the city’s utilities.

Residents said speeding cars are only adding to the mess.

“A lot of dust is kicked up, but that’s pretty typical for a construction area. You see mainly sand and dust,” resident Heaven Grinsell said.

Police advise drivers that speeding through work zones will result in an increased fine.

The construction will continue into 2019.

A Sims Crane & Equipment crane toppled over and fell on two homes in Lauderhill, Florida crashing the roofs and causing minor injuries to two people

The boom is a common suspect to tipping accidents. As the boom raises or lowers through an arc, the boom's center of gravity moves towards or away from the tipping axis. When the movement of a hydraulic boom is combined with the movement through the arc, we have encouraged a tipping accident.

LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA (CBSMiami) – 

A massive task was at hand Wednesday night as crews worked to dismantle a Sims crane that somehow toppled over and fell on two homes in Lauderhill causing minor injuries to two people.

Chopper 4 was over the scene in the area of NW 11th St. and 43rd Ave. following the incident around 3:30 in the afternoon.

“The crane was in the area working in conjunction with Florida Power & Light from our understanding replacing power poles in the backyards of houses. Therefore, it required really large cranes to reach over houses and get into the backyards with this,” said Lauderhill Fire Dept. Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Levy.

Lauderhill Fire Rescue says the crane lost stability for unknown reasons and ended up on its side, while the boom, the extension part of it, fell on the roofs of the two homes causing significant damage.

At the home that suffered the worst damage, Glennise Charles lived there with her fiancé, three children, and her nephew. Her nephew, Johncarry Dorilas, was the only one home at the time of the collapse and was transported to the hospital.

“He’s doing ok,” said Charles. “He’s in pain but once you get injured you don’t feel the pain right away. He’s in pain but I don’t know how he’ll be tomorrow.”

Lauderhill Fire Dept. says the second person injured was the crane operator, who was treated and released on scene.

Crews also had a water main break to deal with, which officials were not sure was caused by the crane collapse.

Those who’ve been displaced by this incident are now wondering what to do next. For now, they have nothing but the clothes on their back unable to gather any of their belongings from the home. “They said we’re not even able to get in even after they lift up the crane. We’re not even sure if we’re going to be able to get in,” said Charles.

Lauderhill Fire said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, has wrapped up the on-scene investigation. They say about 50 homes are without power because of this situation.

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LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA:

When John Ruffin turned on the kitchen tap in his Lauderhill home Thursday, nothing came out. The unexpected drought began the day before, when a massive crane crashed and disrupted the neighborhood that, for a second day, was still in disarray.

The retiree said the halted water service was the result of a water main break on the block of Northwest 44th Terrace that soon was followed by “a thundering noise” from the crane that he heard fall onto a home three doors down from his.


“It’s very inconvenient to not have water,” Ruffin said. But it could have been worse: He said he and his wife Sharon have air conditioning, their wireless internet works, and their roof is intact.

Two of the couple’s neighbors were not as fortunate.
 
The crane boom, perhaps hundreds of feet long, had been extended over homes to install backyard utility poles for Florida Power & Light.

It crashed into two roofs, leaving the crane operator and a resident of the neighborhood with minor injuries, the fire department said.
 
A crane fell over and its boom crashed into two homes in Lauderhill Wednesday, leaving a resident and the crane operator with minor injuries, fire officials said.

Until the crane is removed, engineers won’t be able to say what caused the collapse or what happened first, the water main break or the fallen rig, Lauderhill Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Jeff Levy said.

Once the crane is removed, city utilities crews will be able to investigate what occurred and repair the water lines, Levy said.

It was not clear when the neighborhood, which is north of West Sunrise Boulevard and west of Lauderhill Mall, would return to normal and work crews would depart.

“It’s not a quick process, as you can see,” Levy said. “It’s a large piece of equipment, and it takes a lot of time and planning at this point, for safety reasons, to make sure the crane is righted in a safe manner. So there is no time frame.”

Ruffin was unharmed, and lost power for only about 12 hours.

Forty-nine customers lost electricity that was restored to most around 1 a.m., FPL said. A couple of damaged homes will not get power back right away, according to the utility.

The crane has to be removed before their electricity can be restored, and about 55 homes still lacked water on Thursday, Levy said.

Lauderhill issued a cautionary boil-water notice for the blocks between Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 12th Street, and Northwest 43rd Terrace and Northwest 46th Avenue. If residents have power and don’t have bottled water, they should boil tap water for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth and washing dishes, the city said.

The crane, operated by Sims Crane & Equipment, was still on its side Thursday afternoon. Engineers were waiting for other cranes to arrive to put it upright.

Before sunrise, two end sections of the boom had been removed but most of it was still connected to the crane and remained in a homeowner’s roof.

Devon Whittaker, Sheryl Nandram and their son spent Wednesday night in a hotel and returned to their house Thursday to removed some belongings. The crane had fallen into their front yard and missed the house, but pulled down wires.

"The power pole broke and the power lines came down in my yard and they said we had to leave," Devon Whittaker said. He didn’t know where the family would take shelter Thursday night.

"They told us the crane would be gone by now and it's still here," Whittaker said.

Sims Crane & Equipment did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. The crane was leaking diesel and there were plans to have the fuel pumped out, Levy said.

Staff photographer Taimy Alvarez contributed to this report.

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Understanding the Center of Gravity to a Mobile Crane

 
With mobile cranes, there are three basic components that has individual center of gravity points. We have the Superstructure, carrier and boom. Each of these components have their own center of gravity. Depending on how each piece lays they can affect the others center of gravity. Let’s breakdown each component and see what it does.

Superstructure

 
     The superstructure also known as the upper structure is the revolving frame which holds the operators cab. Usually the upper structure supports the counter weights on rear, then the boom and/or other attachments on the front. With this component, no matter the position of the crane the center of gravity will always remain the same.

Carrier

 
     The carrier also known as the carbody is the under carriage of the crane. Dependent on the type the carrier usually holds the carrier cab, wheels/tracks, outriggers, etc. It is manufactured for transporting the superstructure. Unlike the superstructure where the center of gravity will always remain the same. The center of gravity will vary on the carrier. This is reliant on the location of the direction of the boom. For example, when the boom is over the rear axles the center of gravity will be forward of the rear axles. If the boom is perpendicular to the carrier the center of gravity will be center of the carrier’s width.

Boom

 
      The last component to keep in mind is the boom. Just like the other components it as well has a center of gravity to keep in mind. The center of gravity can be affected depending if you are increasing or decreasing the length of the boom. Unless, one is using a lattice boom in the case of this the center of gravity will remain the same until a jib or other ancillary items is added.

      The boom is a common suspect to tipping accidents. Let me explain, when we apply boom angles. As the boom raises or lowers through an arc, the booms center of gravity is moves towards or away from the tipping axis. When the movement of a hydraulic boom is combined with the movement through the arc, we have encouraged a tipping accident.

For more blogs and safety information about this topic check out our website at www.simscrane.com/blog . Also, be sure to check out our YouTube channel (Simscrane) for a wide variety of construction safety videos and follow us on your favorite social media sites.

Part 3: Mobile Crane Stability – Taking the Crane Apart. (2017, October                 30). Retrieved from CraneTech