On Wednesday, News Center 7 learned that a similar incident happened in the mid 1970s.
A similar incident happened in 1974 when one man died and another survived. When the surviving victim watched coverage of the incident last Friday on News Center 7, he said he had a feeling it was the same thing.
Jim Boland said he never expected to see the scene on television. Emergency crews rushed to a manhole when a Middletown city worker became unconscious, fell and died.
Officials also said three firefighters were overcome by mysterious fumes trying to rescue the worker.
Boland said the exact same thing happened to him in 1974. He said, “I reached for my wrench and that is all I remember until I woke up in the hospital.”
Boland said he was working for the Frigidaire division of General Motors. He said he was underground working on a broken pump for only seconds before he and his partner passed out.
“A couple of days later, I asked how he was doing and the said he died,” Boland said.
Boland was later diagnosed with a life-long disease called Toxic Nuropothy, which is the inhaling of the fumes, most probably.
Boland said he wonders if the very same chemical could be blamed for the Middletown tragedy.
“Polyvinyl Chloride is a liquid that you can’t smell and nothing about it you can detect,” Boland said.
According to documents, Boland came to a settlement in 1977 with General Motors, where he said the polyvinyl chloride came from.
In Middletown, there are chemical plants near the manhole. Officials said they have tested for 5,000 different chemicals, though nothing has tested positive.
Authorities told News Center 7 that they do not know for sure if polyvinyl chloride was among the chemicals that were tested, but they hope to have answers as soon as Thursday.
One of the firefighters was critically injured. He has since been upgraded to fair condition.
Previous Stories: May 11, 2010: Autopsy Indicates Fumes Killed City Worker May 10, 2010: Family, Friends Mourn City Worker's Death May 7, 2010: City Worker Dies, 3 Firefighters Injured