The Fort Worth Fire Department Alarm Office received a call for a medical emergency at 11:50am on August 29th. The location was at 1300 South Main Street- the construction site at JPS Health Hospital. Upon arrival, crews found that the patient was actually located approximately 220 feet up in the air, inside of a crane cab.
Once the Incident Commander realized this was no ordinary EMS call, he made the request for the special Technical Rescue Team (TRT) to perform a high angle technical response.
When technical rescue teams arrived on scene, they gathered gear and began their ascent up the crane’s ladder. They carried with them all of the equipment they would need for the entire rescue on their backs. Upon arrival at the top of the crane (over 22 stories in the air), they went to work. Immediate emergency medical care was started while technical rescue teams began devising a plan for the patient’s safe descent.
Once the patient was safely hooked up to the ropes and rigging system, the crews had him lowered and on the ground. This all happened within less than an hour of their making it to him initially. The crane operator was then transported to the hospital in stable condition.
-Courtesy of Fort Worth Fire Department
