SWAMPSCOTT — A Bobcat operator was hospitalized after falling through the floor of a storage garage behind Town Hall on Friday morning.
The man operating the forklift was trapped inside the machinery at the time of the collapse and was alert when first responders removed him from the site. Fire Chief Graham Archer said the man was taken to Salem Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries at approximately 12 p.m.
“This morning, emergency personnel responded to an incident concerning the garage outside of Swampscott Town Hall,” said Allie Fiske, a spokesperson for the town, in a statement released Friday. “A forklift fell through the floor of the garage, trapping the individual operating the equipment. That individual has since been extracted, was alert, and has been taken to the hospital for evaluation.”
Fiske said the garage is not in danger of collapsing further at this time; the construction accident occurred because the floor of the garage was not designed to handle the weight of the machinery, she said.
“The garage is used to house recreation department items usually, and it’s not structurally able to hold the weight of the forklift,” Fiske said.
The man is not a Town Hall employee; he is a volunteer for the Swampscott Yacht Club, Fiske said.
Katelyn Sahagian can be reached at [email protected].
