| |
|
"Incident
#702417 Summary"
by Edward Eastman
 At 10:13 hours the Tallahassee Fire Department received
a report of a construction accident at Kleman Plaza. Original reports said
the crane operator had fallen from the operating cab and was suspended in
the crane structure 180' above the ground.
Engine one arrived and established command at 10:15 hours. Squad one
and Truck one arrived within one minute of Engine one. At approximately
10:25 hours, Lt. Stacey Lawrence and Dave Farcas (Paramedic, TMRMC) made
access to the victim via the crane's interior ladder. At that time Lt. Lawrence
advised the victim had not fallen, but had become unresponsive in the crane
operating cab. Due to the victims condition, Lt. Lawrence advised the victim
would have to be lowered or removed. Following this, Lt. Wes Roberts requested
Engine three be dispatched to complete the Technical Rescue Team. Prior
to the arrival of the Technical Rescue Team (TRT), Lt. Lawrence and Dave
Farcas removed the victim from the operating cab and placed him on the operating
platform.
Squad three arrived at 10:18 hours. Lt. Roberts examined the crane's
interior ladder structure to determine the possibility of utilizing for
removal. Due to the tight conditions of each ladder-way and landing, this
option was eliminated. Engine three arrived at 10:25 hours. The TRT members
met at Squad three. Following a brief discussion the team decided the safest
option was to lower the victim in the stokes basket.
D/C Steve Anderson assumed command at 10:29 hours. At that time Captain
Stan Burcham was assigned operations and Lt. Roberts was assigned Team Leader.
The elevation of the crane platform was estimated to be 175'. The ropes
carried by the TRT are 150' long. Due to the difference, it was decided
to utilize Truck one. The decision was made to set up Truck one and place
the bucket immediately below the crane's platform. Due to limited access,
the Truck was only able to set the bucket at approximately 30' from the
ground.
All needed equipment, with the exception of the stokes basket, was carried
up with the team. The team arrived at the crane platform at approximately
10:40 hours. Once the team arrived the stokes basket was hoisted up by rope.
Once all the equipment was secured at the crane platform the TRT went
to work building the system and securing the victim in the stokes basket.
The lowering system consisted of two rescue ropes controlled by brake-bar
racks. Two independent lowering systems were utilized in the event one system
failed. tag lines were placed to control the direction of the stokes basket.
The primary tag line was placed to the north in case the wind became a factor
during lowering. Lt. Jimmy Butler arrived at approximately 10:45 hours and
assumed ground operations. Lt. Butler coordinated all activities with units
and personnel on the ground.
After the system was built, loaded, and rechecked, the stokes basket
was attached. Due to the cranes design, the victim was lowered vertically
for the first 6-10 feet. Once the stokes basket cleared the crane area it
was repositioned horizontally. Early during the descent the two tag lines
became twisted. In the process of straightening these lines, the stokes
basket rapidly spun 180 degrees. Although this problem is somewhat common,
the TRT was not expecting it. During the remainder of the descent there
were no problems. The victim was lowered to the bucket of Truck one at 11:32
hours. Once the victim was secured to Truck one all the equipment above
was disconnected. The bucket was placed into the cradle and the victim was
removed to the ambulance.
The victim was transported by ambulance to TMRMC emergency room, where
he was admitted for treatment.
The entire Urban H.A.R.T. staff would like to thank Edward
Eastman for sending in his story. If you or your department has a story
you would like to share please E-mail it to us. We'll see you next month!
E-mail your comments to: [email protected].
Thank you for your reply.
BACK TO TOP OF PAGE |
