BRB work continues after mishap

Construction of the Biomedical Research Building resumed last Friday, one day after two construction workers fell four stories, Art Gravina, vice president of facilities management, said last night. Gravina said that although he can speculate about the cause of the accident, in which the two men were pinned beneath steel decking, the University has a policy of not getting involved with what happens "inside the metal gates" of a construction site. He added that the contractor is responsible for any accidents or mishaps on the construction site. "I believe that the contractor was making a lift of flooring material that was bound by metal straps to the fifth level [when the accident occured,]" Gravina said. "The bundle hit a column on the way up and one of the straps broke, making the bundle very loose. One of the pieces slipped out -- as in a pack of [chewing] gum -- one piece fell out and the rest followed." He added that he thinks the construction workers "rode down" with the falling material. Gravina said he did not have any statistics on construction accidents at the University, but said he does not think there have been very many "major" accidents like this one on campus in the last few years. He said one of the two workers, David Mullen and Blaine Lawford, sustained head injuries and the other "bodily injuries." Kim Ziegler, a nursing supervisor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said last night that Mullen is in stable condition at HUP. She said Lawford has been transferred to another hospital, but that she does not know which one. College junior Soney Chang, who works in Blockley Hall next to the construction site, said she was not concerned about accidents which might affect bystanders. "I don't really feel endangered myself," Chang said. "I think they take the proper precautions. I know they gave out flyers to all the employees [in Blockley Hall], warning them about the [site]." Leon McKnight, another employee in Blockley Hall, said he pays no attention to the site. "When I get here at seven in the morning, I usually don't see anything happening [there]," he said. "And when I leave at night, I just head straight home -- I don't see anything."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.