Monsey boy falls through floor
A 6-year-old boy on Friday night fell through a hole in the floor of a synagogue that police said should not have been occupied because it was still under construction.
Sgt. Daniel Hyman yesterday said the unidentified boy fell at Congregation Birchas Yosef, 6 Milton Place, in Monsey, where about 300 people were gathered.
Hyman said the boy fell about 20 feet onto a concrete floor and was taken by a STAT Flight helicopter at about 9:30 p.m. to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla with suspected internal injuries. He said he did not know the boy's condition yesterday.
"We are investigating what happened at the scene," Hyman said.
Hyman said town officials were investigating because the building did not have a certificate of occupancy.
Hyman said Brian Brophy, Ramapo's building inspector, was called to the scene and determined that the congregation had a building permit, but not the certificate to allow its use.
"No CO was issued as of last night," Hyman said.
He said the investigation is continuing and Brophy would review the file Tuesday.
Officials from the congregation could not be reached last night.
Another issue was whether Chevra Hatzoloh Ambulance of Rockland County, which responded to the scene, followed proper protocol when calling for the helicopter.
Monsey Fire Chief Andrew Schlissel said the ambulance company should have notified the county's fire control dispatch center so his department could have properly secured a landing space for the helicopter. He said the department was not notified.
The chief said he heard the helicopter and then went to the scene, where he said hundreds of people were standing near the landing zone. He said the helicopter initially could not land because the site was not safe.
"It was a major hazard. Someone could have gotten killed," Schlissel said. "It was a scary incident."
Schlissel said the helicopter eventually landed, but added that the safety of the community, firefighters and the injured child were endangered by the apparent breach of protocol.
Hatzoloh could not be reached last night for comment.
Schlissel said he contacted Gordon Wren Jr., the county fire coordinator, and Kim Lippes, Rockland's emergency medical services coordinator, late Friday to complain about the incident.
Lippes would not comment on specifics of the situation, because she had not yet talked to Hatzoloh.
She said, however, that though protocol is a good guide for responders, it's not mandatory.
"We'll try to find out what happened," she said.
Wren said his office also would investigate the situation with Ramapo police, the Monsey Fire Department, Rockland Emergency Services and Hatzoloh to determine what happened. He said said it was premature to comment.
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050904/NEWS03/509040331/1017
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