The crew and I were at a commercial work site.
Not just any site, either, we were on the roof of the new shopping mall, installing the ductwork.
It was a hot day out, and at this point we had been working our butts off for over 10 straight hours with no breaks. It was the biggest single job we had ever untaken, and everyone was focused on doing it right. If we nailed this job, it would lead to other big-money contracts down the line. With all the pressure and stress, I lost focus and had a little accident when a piece of ductwork broke away and fell on my leg. This wasn’t just any piece of ductwork, it was eight feet wide and twenty feet long, being hoisted by a crane. When it landed, it was several hundred pounds worth of sheet metal ductwork crunching the bones in my leg from the knee down. I was lucky the docs were able to save the leg at all! As it stands, I will be in a wheelchair for several weeks, so I can no longer serve as an on-site HVAC tech. Instead my bosses moved me into the front office of the HVAC company, where I now work with the administrative assistants. I am surprised at how much there is to know about the HVAC industry that I had never experienced. I’m not saying I enjoyed it, but it was a learning experience, and if I ever become an HVAC contractor running my own shop, this experience will be invaluable.