A Massachusetts Fire Captain was pinned when the roof of an office building collapsed today, but he was quickly rescued. He refused medical treatment and felt well enough to return to work. "It just came in on me," said Norwood Fire Captain George Geary, 57, of Norwood, a 30-year veteran of the department. "But luckily, there was a metal rack in the room that held up some of the materials."
Firefighters were called to Building No. 2 in a three-building complex at 1400 Boston Providence Highway at about 12:45 p.m. after the roof partially collapsed as workers used snowblowers to remove snow.
Everyone in the building, which housed several companies, was able to safely evacuate. Firefighters responding found that the building’s sprinkler system had been activated. Geary went to the fire alarm room to work on the sprinkler system.
That was when a second, larger section of the roof – about 100 feet by 100 feet – collapsed.The collapse brought ceiling tiles down on Geary’s head. He said someone’s snowblower also fell from the roof into the room.
Firefighters quickly made their way to the room and freed Geary. Firefighters have posted large red X’s all over the building to indicate that no one should enter the building until it has been evaluated, repaired, and deemed structurally sound.
