Casino collapse to delay building's construction

Casino collapse to delay building's construction
OSHA is investigating Horseshoe Casino site that was to open in 2013
By John Nolan, Staff Writer

CINCINNATI — Construction of a new casino will be indefinitely delayed following the building’s partial collapse Friday.

More than a dozen construction workers were injured Friday morning, with four remaining hospitalized Friday night, in the collapse at the $400 million casino in downtown Cincinnati, city fire Chief Richard Braun said.

There were no life-threatening
injuries in the Horseshoe Casino accident, which came just weeks after a similar accident at a Cleveland casino with the same developer.

Workers were taken to area hospitals after the 7:45 a.m. collapse at the site.

A male worker was in serious condition is at Bethesda North on Friday night, and the only worker from the collapse at the hospital, said Joe Kelley of at TriHealth System. The system’s Good Samaritan Hospital treated and released two workers.

Ten workers were treated at University Hospital, said spokesman Matt Kramer, with seven released and three that stayed overnight for monitoring of non-life-threatening injuries.

OSHA was called in to begin investigating the incident.

Steve Rosenthal, principal in Rock Gaming LLC, a partner in the casino project said the construction will not resume at the site until Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials and construction managers determine it is safe to do so.

The workers were pouring concrete in a 60-foot by 60-foot section on the third floor, described as a “bay,” when a beam gave way, the fire chief said.

“It went down in a ‘V.’ The workers on top rode it down,” Braun said.

Shouts could be heard on a 911 call right after the collapse as the caller told the dispatcher “we’ve got one guy that’s in desperate position.”

“There’s about 20 guys just fell through the floor pour. You’ve got to get down here as quick as possible. ...They fell about 15, 20 foot. Hurry,” he said.

“We’ve got men under a beam as well. We got to get this beam off of them.”

The collapse caused nearby
roadways to close for a short time.

Jessie Folmar, a spokeswoman for Cincinnati-based Messer Construction Co., said the company was trying to learn what happened.

“Our top priority is to ensure everyone at our jobsites can return home safely to their families at the end of each day,” Messer’s president and chief executive Tom Keckeis said in a statement. “We have stringent safety processes and protocols in place to ensure our jobsites remain safe and our structures secure.”

Messer has a clean safety record with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration since 2006, according to information from the agency’s database. Its last Ohio incident was that year, when it was penalized for four serious violations and paid a penalty of $3,125. One involved a lack of adequate fall protection for workers.

OSHA inspectors, as well as investigators from the state, were looking into the accident. The developers said work won’t resume until the construction team and authorities say it is safe.

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati is a $400 million development under construction in the northeast corner of the city’s center and was expected to open in spring 2013, an official with the company told an Ohio House panel at a hearing this week.

The casino is being developed by Rock Gaming in partnership with Caesar’s Entertainment. The same team is behind a casino project in downtown Cleveland where a garage partially collapsed Dec. 16. A second-level section of the parking deck gave way while concrete was being poured. No one was injured.

Casino development was touted during a statewide legalization campaign in 2009 for the immediate boost it would give to Ohio’s economy, particularly through the temporary construction jobs needed to build the four new facilities in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo. According to a recent report from the Associated General Contractors of America, construction jobs rose in Ohio this past year — from 163,400 in December 2010 to 168,600 last month. According to a recent report from the Associated General Contractors of America, construction jobs rose in Ohio this past year — from 163,400 in December 2010 to 168,600 last month.

Nationwide, OSHA statistics show there were nearly 196,000 job-related injuries in 2010 in the construction industry, almost four injuries for every 100 fulltime workers. In Ohio, there were 21 fatal injuries in the construction industry in 2010, the agency said

The Cincinnati casino is expected to attract nearly 6 million visitors and create 1,700 jobs, said Lee Dillard, vice president of finance for the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland. It will feature three restaurants, about 2,000 slot machines, 85 table games and a 31-table World Series of Poker room.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.