Three bricklayers were working on the fourth level of a tubular scaffold that was pre-loaded with brick. A sudden gust of wind apparently triggered a scaffold collapse. One worker jumped free and the other two were trapped and buried with brick, planks and the twisted metal frame. They were seriously injured. The scaffold was grossly overloaded and was missing some of its bracing and wall-tie components.

Prevention alert:

• Brace scaffolds properly to resist push-pull forces.
• Do not overload scaffolds. Load them within their load-rated capacity.
• Install all components according to manufacturer's instructions.