There was a massive sigh of relief when firefighters finally rescued the trapped construction worker and gave him hope for another day.
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Tuesday afternoon, a routine delivery of construction material turned disastrous on 28th Road in Astoria, Queens.
2,000 pounds of beams, concrete, and sand were deposited on the roof of the two-story home. It was too much.
Moments later the load broke through the roof, then through the second floor and first floor, eventually crashed into the basement. There were three workers caught in the free fall.
The first worker was able to escape on his own.
The second worker was rescued quickly.
They are both listed in serious condition at the hospital.
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But the third worker, a 28-year-old man, officials say was pinned in the basement, crushed under 1,000 pounds of debris.
It took almost two grueling hours to rescue the worker.
Thankfully he was conscious throughout the ordeal.
He was removed around 5:30 p.m. and rushed to a nearby ambulance in what was described as critical condition condition.
New York City has an elite corps of EMT workers trained specifically for such dangerous rescues.
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Josh Einiger reported on Juan Henriquez and his intense training.
Tuesday, Henriquez was the hero EMT who crawled into the hole, comforted the construction worker and administered the critical IV medicines to keep him alive.
The two-family home that collapsed was currently under renovations. The owner had a permit to add a third floor.
When materials are delivered to the roof, there's supposed to be an engineer's report confirming that the roof can support the weight.
It's not clear if an engineer pre-approved this roof for such a delivery.