High winds topple scaffolding at Etna construction site across the street from houses, no one hurt

Etna residents who live across a narrow street from an industrial building being overhauled were evacuated Saturday when high winds pulled scaffolding from the building.

The incident took place at about 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of Butler and Bridge streets. There was a fire at the three-story industrial building several months ago and the building is experiencing a major overhaul.

The scaffolding was built two stories high and fronted about 120 feet of the building. The scaffolding and huge sheets of plastic being used to shield workers from the elements were pulled away by the wind.

At first, the upper half of scaffolding leaned out toward the street. So police summoned Duquesne Light to shut off power lines strung along the street. They feared that the metal scaffolding might move farther, make contact with the lines and become electrified.

As a result, police went door-to-door across the street to evacuate residents. They found few people were home and got those who were out safely.

That was fortunate, because WPXI reported that the scaffolding later fell against the houses across the street, then fell to the street at about 5:30 p.m.