WESTBROOK – Four men on a roofing crew were hospitalized Tuesday morning when scaffolding collapsed at a housing construction project in Westbrook.

Sgt. John Desjardins of the Westbrook Police Department said the four workers fell about 16 feet to the icy ground. The men were taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland by ambulances from Westbrook, Portland and Gorham.

Desjardins said the four appeared to have suffered significant injuries, but they were all conscious and talking following the accident. He said the four had been on a 20-foot aluminum staging plank rated for two men or 500 pounds. Brackets holding the staging appeared to have been improperly secured.

“They were working at the roof line,” said Westbrook Fire Chief Daniel Brock, who said the incident happened about 10:30 a.m.

The roofing crew was working on a four-unit apartment project at 210 Forest St. owned by Herb Spach of Portland. The National Weather Service reported dipping temperatures Tuesday morning with a wind chill of about zero at noon.

“Any time of year is brutal to fall,” Spach said at the scene.

Karen Billups, assistant area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Tuesday the agency is investigating the accident. The agency had an inspector en route to the Westbrook construction site at 1:25 p.m.

Sgt. John Desjardins of the Westbrook Police Department shows where four men on a roofing crew fell 16 feet when a staging plank collapsed Tuesday at a construction site in Westbrook. (Staff photo by Robert Lowell)