MEDFORD — A 50-year-old laborer working on house renovations died late Wednesday afternoon after a foundation collapsed and trapped him under a Medford home.
The man had been working on a porch foundation on Highland Avenue and was standing in a trench dug between the ground and a wall when the collapse occurred, crushing him between the foundation and the earth, according to the Medford Fire Department.
The department was called to the scene at 2:44 p.m., and the responding firefighters had to use two-by-fours as leverage to free the pinned man. All of this took about five minutes, fire officials said.
Once clear of the collapse, first responders administered CPR and attempted to revive the worker before he was rushed to Mass. General Hospital.
“It took all (four) of us to move the biggest cement piece and get the guy out,” said one Medford firefighter, who declined to be identified. “Those (co-workers) weren’t even budging it when we got there.”
The incident is under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police, Medford Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, though the death is not considered suspicious, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.
