Nick Ford only worked with Kenneth “Skinny” McKenna for 1½ days, but it was enough time for him to develop a friendly relationship with the 51-year-old man who was born in Concord and grew up near White Park.
“Talking to him for the 12 hours we worked together, he seemed like the most genuine guy, super nice,” Ford said. “In my experience in trade work, people can be short and don’t have the patience. But Skinny would take his time with me. If I didn’t understand something, he would take the time to show me.”
McKenna fell 30 feet to his death in a construction accident in Concord on Tuesday. It was Ford’s second day on the job, and the two of them were the only ones working on a siding project at 280 Pleasant St., a commercial building that houses medical offices.
Ford was working on the ground while McKenna was up on a temporary platform, climbing a small ladder to reach the area he was working on.
Ford says he never heard a scream or a shout.
The two were working as subcontractors for Craigue & Sons Home Exteriors and were replacing the siding on the street side of the two-story building.
When he heard the thump, Ford turned around and saw McKenna lying face down on a brick walkway, directly below the row of windows where he was working.
Ford ran to McKenna’s side and observed a deep cut on the back of his head and blood on his face.
“I was in total shock,” Ford said. “When I first heard it, it was a really disturbing sound. Like a box of shingles falling on the ground.”
Ford pulled out his phone and dialed 911 at 11:28 a.m. He says that while he did this, more than a dozen people, including a doctor and a few nurses, from inside the building came out to see what had happened and tried to help McKenna.
The two had started work about 8:30 that morning. Shortly before 11 a.m., McKenna came down the ladder and told Ford that he “felt dizzy.” McKenna had told Ford on Monday that he was a diabetic, and Ford suggested taking a break to cool off and get some water.
A little later, McKenna started climbing the ladder to get back up to work while Ford retreated to a picnic bench a few feet away to take a break himself. Ford said not more than a minute passed before he heard McKenna fall behind him.
“He never made a sound,” Ford said. “No scream. He didn’t make a peep.”
Concord police told the Monitor on Thursday that there is no criminal investigation.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation earlier this week, the first time it has inspected the safety practices at Craigue & Sons.
The company’s former owner, Ken Craigue, fell 35 feet while repairing a collapsed barn roof in 2001. Craigue, who was a fixture in the local sports community as a player and coach, suffered severe head injuries in the fall and endured years of rehab.
Today, the company is operated by Ken’s son, Nate, who was also standout athlete in Concord and was drafted by the Minnesota Twins before a shoulder injury cut his career short in 1996.
McKenna graduated from Concord High School in 1983 and eventually began working in construction, showing an aptitude for exterior construction.
According to an obituary released by his family, McKenna was a big sports fan who played ice hockey as a child and adult. He also competed in local men’s softball and was a fantasy football fanatic.
“He was always a competitor in everything he did,” the family wrote.
(Leah Willingham contributed to this report. Nick Stoico can be reached a t 369-3321, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @ NickStoico.)