By Barbara Boyer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
UPPER ROXBOROUGH, Pa. — A plumber buried while working on a sewage line in Upper Roxborough was critically injured yesterday afternoon, but survived after being dug out with a backhoe and shovels.
Michael Innuzzi, 36, and James Herd, 19, of Tinneny Plumbing & Heating were working in an unreinforced trench six feet deep in the 400 block of Flamingo Street when it caved in about 12:30 p.m., Police Officer Al Harmer said.
Innuzzi was knocked off his feet and completely buried face up in the trench, which was more than 25 feet long and at least five feet wide. Herd desperately tried to find him, fire officials said.
When firefighters and medics arrived, workers were using a backhoe to remove large amounts of dirt, Fire Lt. Paul McDevitt said. Rescue workers took over with shovels and quickly found Innuzzi, who was unresponsive and had stopped breathing, McDevitt said.
As soon as enough mud was lifted from Innuzzi’s face and chest, he started breathing on his own with an oxygen mask, and rescue workers continued digging him out. He was in and out of consciousness as he was rushed to Temple University Hospital in critical condition.
A shaken Herd was taken to Temple as a precaution, officials said.
Innuzzi remained in critical condition last night, and Herd was in fair condition, a Temple spokesman said.
Emergency vehicles, many with lights still flashing, filled the normally quiet block, where property owners are hooking into a recently installed city sewege line. Construction has been steady the last several months in the neighborhood of new and older homes, officials said.
State and federal laws require that a construction site be properly permitted and secured. In this case, officials said, the sides of the trench should have been reinforced with bracing. The ground may have shifted more easily because of Tuesday night’s rain, officials said.
Calls to Tinneny Plumbing were not immediately returned yesterday.
Authorities from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections were called to the site.
Officials said that Tinneny had been ordered to cease operations, and that the trench had to be filled pending further investigation.
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