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.

sign at the entrance to the building lot

indicates that the area is unsafe and no entry is

permitted.

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