Two workers were killed in a construction accident at the site of the future Whippany, N.J., Fire Department firehouse last week. The accident appeared to involve a crane and a generator being lowered onto a concrete pad.
NJ.com reported that a 10,000-pound generator being hoisted by a crane fell onto two workers when a strap gave way. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene, but the second man was taken to Morristown Medical Center in critical condition where he later died. The first worker killed in the accident was the son-in-law of the crane operator, according to the report.
The second worker has been identified as an electrician: Robert Derkacs, Jr., 45. He worked at Boz Electrical Contracting as an electrician and a foreman for the past 15 years, according to his obituary.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was alerted to the accident and is continuing its investigation. According to the NJ.com report, four companies working at the job site — the two companies at which the workers killed in the accident worked, the company operating the crane and the general contractor, Precision Building and Construction — have each been cited for serious safety violations in the past seven years.
Groundbreaking for the new fire house took place in February 2015, and, as of a December news release, the site was expected to be complete by the spring
