2 Men Injured When Scaffold Falls at Hotel

Two men suffered broken bones Tuesday afternoon when scaffolding at Disneyland’s new Grand Californian Hotel collapsed, dropping them about 25 feet onto a roof, authorities said.

The two men, 35 and 37, were taken to UCI Medical Center for treatment of injuries that hospital officials said were not life-threatening. Both men were reported in fair condition, said hospital spokeswoman Kim Pine.

The incident occurred about 1:40 p.m. as the two unidentified workers were installing trim outside the hotel, under construction on South West Street as part of Disneyland’s expanded amusement area in Anaheim.

“Any time you sustain that type of fall, the possibility for serious injury is great,” said Anaheim Fire Department spokesman Kent Mastain.

Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said the incident was reported to the job safety agency by the project manager at the hotel site before 3 p.m. Tuesday. He said the two men are employees of Custom Metal Fabricators of Orange.

“What we will be looking at in this investigation is the manner in which the scaffolding was erected and we will look at training of the employees,” Fryer said. He said they have not determined if the men were wearing safety harnesses.

All workers must have some kind of fall protection if they are working at a height greater than 7 1/2 feet, Fryer said.

Disney officials declined comment, referring calls to Turner Construction Co. Telephone calls to that company were not returned.

When completed, The Grand Californian--scheduled to open in January 2001--will have 750 rooms.

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Times staff writer E. Scott Reckard contributed to this report.