Two workers were injured when a deck collapsed at a construction site on Cloverdale Drive in Dale City on Thursday morning.
The four-story deck fell around 10:30 a.m. at Hampton Square condominiums when temporary bracings supporting the decks apparently failed, said Eric M. Mays, according to Prince William County officials.
The two workers, whose names were not released, were flown to an area hospital as a precaution, fire and rescue officials said. The workers fell somewhere between 10 and feet 15. They were in stable condition.
A worker at the site said that temporary structural support for the decks was lacking.
"It's ridiculous that these guys got hurt," said the worker, who would not give his name because he was instructed not to talk to the media.
Building inspectors were at the scene investigating the collapse for about two hours before deeming the condos unsafe.
"A structural engineer is going to have to submit a new plan so they can continue safely," said Eric M. Mays, building official for the Prince William County Department of Public Works.
Construction is halted until the plan is submitted to public works and approved, he said.
The two workers were replacing the bracings with permanent columns, but right now it is unknown what exactly caused the collapse, Mays said.
Mays said it could have been because a support was removed too soon, or because the forklift at the site hit something or because the supports were deficient.
However, he added that the existing supports for the other decks pose too much of a risk to allow construction to continue.
"There's only one two-by-four supporting the middle there," he said pointing to one of the decks. "And it's buckling."
An empolyee of the Hylton Group, the builder of the condominiums, did not wish to comment for the story.
Mays said the investigation would be turned over to the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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The Prince William County Fire Department went to the scene of a deck collapse Thursday morning, authorities said.
