A Tyrone man was injured yesterday in an accident in Altoona while working for the Lamar Advertising Company.
Alton “Skip” Chamberlain was hurt in a fall around 7:30 a.m., according to Lamar’s area vice-president George Foster.
He said Chamberlain had “an oversight” with the attachment of his ladder to a sign which led to the incident. Foster explained that workers attach their ladders to the sign. The worker is also harnessed onto the ladder.
Foster said the ladder was not properly attached over the sign. He said while Chamberlain was on the ladder, it came away from the sign and fell to the ground while he was harnessed to it.
Foster said, “A worker affixes the ladder over the board or sign but in this case it didn’t go over the board.”
Foster said, to his knowledge, no one witnessed the incident but that Chamberlain was able to contact his company via a cell phone to inform them he had been in an accident and get assistance.
Chamberlain was admitted to an area hospital and according to Foster was in “good condition.”
Foster said the accident was only the third accident of any type he knew of in the area during the 20 years he had worked in the outdoor sign business. Foster said he knew of no other accident of a similar nature in the area during his years in the industry.
“We climb ladders all day, what are the odds something would happen,” said Foster.
He said his company expends hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars on safety each year. He said the company has mandatory safety courses for its workers and provides safety equipment including harnesses and cables and lines.
Foster said Lamar Advertising is a national company with more than 150 offices throughout the country.
Regarding Chamberlain’s condition, his son, Tyrone Area High School student, Alton “Tad” Chamberlain spoke about his father at last night’s school board meeting. The younger Chamberlain was on hand with several other students to receive recognition for a variety of achievements.
After being asked about his father by Principal Rebecca Erb, he told the audience, “Dad will be okay, it’s going to take time, but he’ll be okay.”
