At 11::42 this morning, PF&R crews and the Technical Rescue Team were dispatched to a report of a 100,000 pound vertical drill rig construction crane (used to auger and cast vertical pylons for building construction) that had tipped over onto its side, pinning the crane operator within the cab. Upon the initial crews’ arrival on scene at 545 SW Campus Dr, they found the crane on its side and the operator pinned into the cab with serious injuries.
The operator’s co-workers did a great job in assisting our crews by placing a jack under the cab prior to crews’ arrival, which allowed them to quickly lift the cab off the victim, facilitating a rapid extrication.
The Technical Rescue Team then supported the cab with cribbing so the cab wouldn’t shift on the soft earth; this was necessary to both protect the victim from further injury and to ensure firefighters’ safety while performing this rescue. Crews then breeched the glass of the cab, removed the victim, and packaged them for transport. Total time for the extrication was 14 minutes.
The victim was then transferred to an AMR ambulance, entered into the trauma system and transported to a trauma center.
