UPDATED: Muse Man Injured in Va. Fall

A Muse man was airlifted to a Virginia Hospital Wednesday afternoon after a scaffold cable loop apparently failed at the top of a water tank he was painting, sending him falling about 80 feet to the ground.

A spokeswoman for the University of Virginia Medical Center said late Wednesday night that Dan Marmo, 38, was in critical condition – although no information was available Thursday morning.

Another man on the scaffold was not injured.

According to a press release issued from the Town of Culpeper, where the accident occurred, police, fire and rescue personnel responded to the Standpipe water tank along Orange Road around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday for reports Marmo had fallen from scaffolding, and another man was dangling from his safety harness about 80 feet above ground.

“Rescue workers discovered a conscious (Marmo) on the ground at the base of the water tower. He was airlifted to the University of Virginia medical Center for treatment,” the statement indicated.  “A 48-year-old Meadeville man, who also was working on the scaffold, was rescued and not injured.”

Marmo and his coworker were on a scaffold inside a containment tarp where they were painting the exterior of the water tank. The scaffold, suspended by cables, was at the top of the tank at the time of the accident -- about 80 feet up. One worker said the containment tarp probably helped break the injured man’s fall.

“The cable supporting the scaffolding was connected to the top of the water tank with a loop in the cable secured with a crimp connection,” the release continued. “Possibly, the crimp connection was not tight enough and the cable pulled out.”

The two men are employed D&M Painting Company of Avella. The company contracted with the town to paint the interior and exterior of the town’s three elevated water tanks. The Standpipe tank is the first tank to be painted and work began on last week, according to the release.

Police were waiting for representatives of the federal Occupational, Safety and Health Administration to get on scene to investigate as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the release.