Chris Carpenter/Photo Editor
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A harness saved a construction worker from serious injury when he slipped and fell from a roof of one of the newly constructed Newing Residential Community buildings on Monday, Aug. 30.

The worker tumbled from Building 2 at the site of Newing Community at around 8 a.m.

‘All of the safety equipment and gear was in place, including the safety harness which caught his fall,’ said prime contractor LeChase spokeswoman Jennifer Miglioratti.

LeChase of Rochester would not release the identity of the worker due to privacy concerns.

Apple Roofing of Syracuse, which employs the worker and is subcontracted by LeChase to complete construction on the site, would not comment on the worker’s condition or whether he is back at work. According to a report from the Press & Sun-Bulletin, the worker was described as in his twenties.

An official from Vestal Fire Department saw a Vestal ambulance carry the fallen worker in a stair chair to safety. A stair chair is used to evacuate an injured or immobile person down a flight of steps.

Vestal EMS would not comment when contacted.

Miglioratti told Pipe Dream that Vestal EMS took the worker to Binghamton General Hospital for an evaluation. He was released later that same day.

Work was not delayed throughout the day after the incident.

The construction industry has some of the highest slip-and-fall rates in the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists that 30,312 construction workers incurred injury requiring time off from work resulting from a fall to a lower level in 2008.

Building 2 adjoins the future Delaware Hall where in June a scaffold collapse injured six Apple Roofing employees. The Occupational Safety and Hazard Association (OSHA) was called in to inspect the site for evidence of negligence. OSHA is required to investigate a construction site when three or more workers are hospitalized after an accident. The investigation into the cause of the scaffold breakdown is ongoing.

In addition to the renovation of Newing Residential Community, LeChase also has contracts for construction work at SUNY Brockport and SUNY Albany, according to New York State Comptroller’s Office.