OLCOTT: Lockport contractor lands on feet after fall

Local News

Related Photos

Joe Eberle/Staff Photographer Olcott, NY - Michael S. Hare, of MSH general contractors, works on a beam that is part of the unit at 5800 West Main St., Olcott. The structure was razed to make room for future development. Here is a sequence of Mr. Hare having an accident and falling to the ground after the beam he was sawing broke loose prematurely. Mr. Hare landed on his feet and sustained no injuries.
Joe Eberle/Staff photographer
Joe Eberle/Staff photographer
Joe Eberle/Staff photographer
Joe Eberle/Staff photographer
Joe Eberle/Staff photographer
Joe Eberle/Staff photographer

February 4, 2009

By Bill Wolcott<br><a href="mailto:bill.wolcott@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Bill</a> The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Wed Feb 04, 2009, 02:13 AM EST

OLCOTT — Mike Hare, 54, a former Lockport High School football player and wrestler, stays in pretty good shape.

Tuesday morning, his agility was tested when a beam broke underneath him and fell about 12 feet. Hare did a flip off an aging, vacant building at 5800 West Main St., landed on his feet and was able to laugh about it.

“I was cutting a wedge in the beam so it wouldn’t pinch my saw,” he said. “It was the last beam to cut. When the beam dropped, I just went with. It was weird. I didn’t land crooked. I just landed on my feet.”

Hare let the chain saw go and put his arms out to block himself from the wall. The owner of MSH General Contractors went head-over-heels before hitting the ground and came down safely. However, later in the day his leg began to hurt and decided to go for X-rays.

Hare was part of a three-man team demolishing the building that was built in 1920. Cody Russo rushed over.

“He just laughed,” Hare said. “He couldn’t believe I was standing on my feet. They said, ‘You’re like a cat. You landed on your feet.’ ”

Union-Sun & Journal photographer Joe Eberle was assigned to take pictures of the demolition. He was using a Canon 1D Mark 2 camera that can take eight frames a second. Though surprised by the accident, Eberle kept shooting the 360-degree spin.

Hare was very upbeat after the fall and thought the pictures might be used for America Funniest Home Videos.

The saw, which has an automatic kick-off, landed a few feet from Hare.

A certified construction teacher, has learned not to try to save the chain saw. He is a licensed U.S. Coast Guard captain and conducts sailboat charters in season. “I work hard and I’m pretty agile,” he said.

Contact reporter Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, ext. 6246.

Text Only

Local News

Municipalities take wait-and-see approach on SPCA funding
The City and Town of Lockport are each withholding payments to the Niagara SPCA, while other Eastern Niagara County towns are taking a wait-and-see approach.

February 7, 2012 1 Photo 2 Stories
Rocky II
Friends of Deputy Craig Beiter of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Department plan a benefit on Feb. 26 to raise money to buy and train a new dog for the K-9 Unit.
Beiter’s German shepherd, Deputy Rocky, was killed while on duty in December, and the sheriff’s department is close to getting a replacement.

February 6, 2012 1 Photo 2 Stories
Basket Factory closes
The Basket Factory has gone out of business.
The owners, Julie Thompson Riegle and Dawn Thompson, made the difficult decision last Monday and put the sign on the door Tuesday.

February 6, 2012
No snow is no problem
Unseasonably warm weather didn’t keep Roy-Hart Winterfest from being a fun day for the families who came out to Roy-Hart Elementary School on Saturday.
More than 500 people attended the third annual festivities, which Gasport Lions Club officials said was a big increase from last year. The halls of Roy-Hart Elementary were filled with vendors, programs and movement as excited children rushed from one activity to another.

February 6, 2012
Shovel-ready park has perks
At first glance, the big, orange road sign announcing vacant property on Lockport Road as a “shovel ready certified” building site seems a bit gratuitous.
To companies looking for new places to launch a business, it’s not. The sign in their eyes is a welcome mat, for in three words a community pronounced itself ready, willing and able to make a deal quickly.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
Roy-Hart to play the big stage
A group of local students will be performing this month at Kleinhans Music Hall just before a BPO concert.
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will welcome the Royalton-Hartland High School Mixed Chorus as part of the BPO’s Community Spotlight program on Feb. 19 at Kleinhans in Buffalo. The chorus will perform under the direction of Carolyn Unitas Roos and accompanied by Janice McKinney.

February 3, 2012
Former NFTA cop sentenced
A former Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority police officer will spend six years on probation for sending a sexually explicit photo to a teenage girl, a girl he later had a sexual encounter with.
In addition, John W. Ingham will spend 25 weekends in the service of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Work Program. Ingham was sentenced Thursday by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch, Sr. Ingham will also register as a sex offender.

February 3, 2012
Speakers address SPCA contract
Animal rescue volunteers want the City of Lockport to hit the SPCA of Niagara where it hurts — in the pocketbook — and help force reform of the troubled animal welfare organization.
Volunteers from multiple small, private rescue groups, and the SPCA itself, descended on the Common Council Wednesday to talk about the city’s ongoing involvement with SPCA.

February 2, 2012 4 Photos
Liberty Tire cited for 'multiple' violations
The City of Lockport will require Liberty Tire Recycling to obtain an operating permit in order to avoid being declared a hazard.

February 2, 2012
Instant millionaire
Paul Schneider had just gotten off the phone with his girlfriend when he called her back with some breaking news.
“She was teasing me and said, ‘so you hung up the phone with me to scratch your scratch offs?’” Schneider said. “And I said, ‘It’s a good thing I did because I won a million dollars.’”

February 1, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

OLCOTT: Lockport contractor lands on feet after fall

Site Map

Contact Us