Man Rescued from Trench in Gainesville
A delicate rescue in a narrow, 14-foot-deep trench put the skills of a special team to the test late Monday afternoon as they safely retrieved a construction worker after a wall of sand and clay collapsed around him.
The man remained hospitalized with multiple fractures Tuesday, said Ronnie Arnold of R.E. Arnold Construction, his employer. Arnold would not give the name of his employee, and it was not available from fire rescue agencies.
Unstable sand and clay at the construction site of the city of Gainesville’s new stormwater system off Southeast Fourth Street and Depot Avenue collapsed on the worker, who was trapped between a massive concrete vault and the earthen wall, said Gainesville Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Jeff Lane.
“They were digging around that vault to get some grading done and for some reason he went down in there to guide the backhoe. An area became unstable and sloughed off — a huge section of sand and clay sloughed off and landed on him,” Lane said. “It left a concave section where the top part was overhanging on top of the victim and rescuers. It was very precarious, and they had to get him out of there in a hurry.”
GFR got the call at 3:55 p.m., and a crew from its Technical Rescue Team, which is based at the South Main Street station near the incident scene, was there by 3:58 to plan and execute the rescue.
Lane said the man’s co-workers had gotten most of the dirt off him by the time firefighters arrived. The rescuers had to safely get into the trench, assess the man’s injuries, immobilize him and get him out without exacerbating his injuries.
About Author
