SALEM — A worker died yesterday morning after falling off a roof of a church, Salem police said.
Benedelso N. Ovalle, 21, of Lynn died shortly after the 8:53 a.m. accident. Ovalle, an employee of Olympic Paint & Roofing of Peabody, was replacing old slate tiles with shingles, officials at the scene said. Police said he fell some 23 to 25 feet. The new roof is on the new home of First Baptist Church of Salem, which moved to 292 Lafayette St. about a month ago.
Salem Police Lt. Paul Lemelin said Ovalle had carried shingles to the top of the ladder, got off onto the roof, and turned around.
“It appears he turned around to adjust the ladder and as he did, he toppled over,” Lemelin said.
A Medflight helicopter arrived to transport the accident victim to a Boston hospital, but it was not needed, police said. “He never made it to the Medflight,” Detective James Page said.
Yellow police tape enclosed the area around a ladder going to the church roof. At the base of the ladder were a pair of worn leather work boots, work gloves and what appeared to be a tool belt and harness. Opened and unopened packages of shingles rested on the roof.
An official with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration climbed up to inspect the roof and took photos of equipment on the ground. OSHA spokesman John Chavez said the federal agency is investigating the accident.
“That company has no previous history with OSHA,” Chavez said.
Details of what happened were sparse yesterday. Chavez said he could not comment on an ongoing investigation, and Salem police refused to release their report on the fatal accident. Two church officials did not return calls.
Olympic Painting & Roofing released a company statement, saying, “Our sympathy goes out to the family and it’s a tragedy. We are waiting for the results from the accident report and we have no further comment at this time.”
On its Web site, Olympic Painting & Roofing said it followed OSHA guidelines.
“Olympic provides safety training for all of its employees,” the Web site reads. “We have several in-house certified safety instructors and work closely with the leading Safety Consultant in the New England area and OSHA. Our employees participate in bi-annual safety seminars and attend weekly job safety meetings.”
The 292 Lafayette St. building had been the home of Wesley United Methodist Church. It was bought in July by the First Baptist Church of Salem, which is being forced to move from Federal Street to make way for a new $106 million state courthouse. The church held its first Sunday service Aug. 5 in the parsonage while the church sanctuary was being renovated, according to the church’s Web site.
— Staff writer Mike Stucka contributed to this report.
Merrimack Valley
September 1, 2007
Worker dies after falling from roof of Salem church
- Merrimack Valley
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State officials asked to investigate Adams
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The deadline for cities and towns to join the state plan is March 1. - Mass. schools suspend thousands under 'zero-tolerance'
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