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WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley fire captain injured when a stairwell under construction collapsed just as he and several colleagues were carrying a patient down it, remained hospitalized Tuesday in critical condition but was improving, police said.
A 34-year-old woman was working Monday at a building under construction at 1770 W. 4100 South. The woman was on scaffolding, working on the exterior of the building about five to six stories up, when she fell from the scaffolding about 4:45 p.m., said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxanne Vainuku. The woman fell an estimated one to two stories and landed on an unfinished patio.
Emergency crews responded and firefighters put the patient on a stretcher to carry her out, Vainuku said.
But as the crews were walking down a staircase still under construction, and about one floor away from the bottom, the staircase collapsed underneath them.
A 36-year-old captain, who has been with the department for 13-years, was flown by medical helicopter to a local hospital to be treated for several injuries, including multiple broken bones, Vainuku said. His identity has not been released. Police said his injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.
Two other firefighters — a 40-year-old senior firefighter/paramedic and a 27-year-old firefighter — were taken to local hospitals by ambulance where they were treated and later released. West Valley described their injuries as "widespread and severing bruising" as well as a sprained ankle suffered by one of the men.
The woman who was injured remained in the hospital Monday night. Vainuku said the woman also suffered broken bones, but it was unclear which injuries were caused by her initial fall and which were due to the staircase collapse.
Related:
3 firefighters, 1 other person injured after staircase collapses at construction site
One firefighter was taken by medical helicopter, and three other firefighters and one civilian were injured after what officials said was a construction site accident in West Valley City on Monday afternoon.Additional units from the West Valley City Fire Department as well as crews from the South Salt Lake and the Unified Fire Authority all responded to the construction site to help rescue the group.
Monday night, a fourth firefighter, a 24-year-old man who initially did not go to the hospital, ended up going after he started feeling pain later that evening, Vainuku said. He was also treated for bruising and later released.
The cause of the staircase collapsing was still being investigated Tuesday. Vainuku did not know if firefighters used the same stairs to walk up the building when they first arrived.
Both West Valley building inspectors and a representative from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the construction site on Tuesday. A spokesman for the city said the contractor for the project has now shut down the project until further notice. Once the contractor decides to resume work, city building inspectors will be called to return to the site, according to the city. It was unknown Tuesday how long the construction project could be closed.
