SILVERTON, Ore. — A custodian at Robert Frost Elementary School in Silverton, Oregon, fell 20 feet through the gymnasium ceiling onto the hardwood floor while inspecting structural damage with engineers, leaving him hospitalized with 12 broken bones but grateful to be alive.

Daniel DeCola, who has maintained the school for eight years, discovered at least two broken roof trusses in the attic above the kitchen on Dec. 3.

“I was walking through the kitchen, and I noticed there was an air vent sagging through the ceiling,” DeCola said from his hospital bed. He went into the attic to investigate and found a broken truss pushing down on the ventilation system.

The structural damage prompted the school to close on Dec. 4 and 5 while inspectors assessed the building’s safety.

During the inspe

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