35W bridge collapse: Building a safety net for the future

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_3624

By Karen Hagen, president, T.E.A.M.
21 April 2008

ST. PAUL - Talk to anyone who was on or near the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis the evening of Aug. 1, 2007, and you find out fast that while there is so much to tell, no combination of words can truly capture what these people saw, heard, and felt. But it doesn't take many words to convince folks that some people — especially those working in the trade unions — will feel the impact of the collapse for years to come.

"I wish I could describe to you what those folks went through, because it was surreal," recalls Chuck Felling, a counselor who was immediately dispatched to perform critical incident stress debriefing at the site. "It was catastrophic. To see it, it just doesn't register."



One of the busiest bridges in Minnesota collapsing at rush hour, killing 13, injuring 100 — is a disaster with an impact far beyond the Mississippi River banks that were the site of this catastrophe.

After a tragedy of this magnitude, it is common practice for first responders like police, EMTs, and firefighters to go through critical incident stress debriefing. However, when all of those tons of cement and steel plunged 65 feet into the Mississippi River, it wasn't just a bridge that collapsed — for employees of PCI, Inc., it was a worksite and one of their coworkers that went down with it. Greg Jolstad, 45, cement worker and Operating Engineers Local 49 union member, was the last victim pulled from the river.

"I don't think we know completely how these people will respond over the years to this," says Dave Semerad, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota. "I think it's going to haunt them in ways that we can't imagine for many years." It is a unique challenge facing workers, management, union leaders, and EAP counselors. That's because, while construction workers are no strangers to job-related risks, 1,900-foot-long bridges are just not supposed to collapse under your feet.

"I think they will be fearful of working in a similar situation for the rest of their lives," says Semerad, "which is frightful when you think about it."

'Tough guy' nature
Adding to the challenge for employee assistance counselors is the "tough guy" nature of the people involved, which is something that Felling knows well. "You'll say to them that, 'you may find it hard to get out of bed, you might feel depression or anxiety,' but you're talking to cement workers or electricians, and they just kind of roll their eyes."


FULL story at link.