A brick chimney on a historic building being remodeled into the Provo (Utah) City Library came tumbling down November 13, showering bricks and debris on a father and son working on the construction.
Firefighters had to rappel down into the old structure, then lifted out Adan Alfaro, 41, who appeared to have back, neck, and chest injuries, according to the November 14 Deseret News. His son, Jose Alfaro, 21, suffered a knee injury. Both were taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
The 107-year-old structure is the last of four buildings that once made up Academy Square on Provo’s University Avenue. Originally known as Brigham Young University’s “B.Y. Academy,” it was sold in 1975 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and threatened with demolition over the next 20 years. Residents filed two lawsuits to preserve it, but it was essentially voters who saved it by approving a multimillion-dollar bond to create a $22-million, 90,000-square-foot library.
Posted November 22, 1999.