By MONROE ROARK
Staff Writer

Federal and state authorities are investigating the death of a construction worker at a building site in Peachtree City early Monday.

Peachtree City emergency personnel received a call shortly before 9 a.m. and responded to a residential lot on Newport Drive in the Point on Lake Kedron subdivision. There they found Michael Phipps lying in a hole approximately 10 feet deep, according to Capt. Stony Lohr of the Peachtree City Fire Department.

Phipps had been working in the area underneath what would eventually be the porch of the home under construction on that lot, applying adhesive for waterproofing, Lohr said.

The cause of death has not yet been determined, but chemical fumes at the site were overwhelming when Phipps' body was discovered, Lohr said.

One firefighter smelled something and got down into the hole, but got back out immediately because of the overpowering fumes, Lohr said. Three firefighters then entered the hole with self-contained breathing apparatus.

The victim received medical attention at the exact spot he was found. No respiration or heartbeat was detected at first, Lohr said, but medical equipment eventually found a slight electrical impulse that indicated Phipps could still be alive.

He was taken out of the hole at about 9:45 and taken to Fayette Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Fayette County Coroner C.J. Mowell said Tuesday that Phipps' body has already been turned over to the state medical examiner's office. A state pathologist will conduct the autopsy, Mowell said.

Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating what might have happened at the site to cause the death, according to Lohr and Maj. Mike Dupree of the Peachtree City Police Department.

A sign at the entrance to the building lot indicates that the area is unsafe and no entry is permitted.