Abstract: At approximately 2:00 p.m. on December 18, 2000, Employee #1 and Employee #2 were engaged in demolishing (striking) the second floor of an interior set, situated approximately 16 ft above the ground. Other demolition laborers, inadvertently cut a structural beam (silent joist) while removing 45-degree angled ceiling sections from underneath the second story balcony of the south wing, thereby weakening that section of the flooring where Employee #1 and Employee #2 were working. The remaining section of the floor (approximately 8 ft by 13 ft) collapsed, causing both employees to fall to the wooden floor. Employee #2 landed on his feet on the ground and Employee #1 fell down and hit a sheet of plywood and landed on his back. Employee #1 suffered a compression fracture of T12 of the lumber spine. Employee #2 sprained his left ankle and suffered some back pain. Both Employees were hospitalized.