LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Following a nearly nine-hour long rescue effort, Louisville Fire Department crews have rescued a worker trapped in a collapsed structure at 316 E. Chestnut St., home of the former Community Correctional Center.
Crews pulled the worker out of what LFD Chief Brian O'Neill had previously described as a "void space" around 8:25 p.m. He was immediately transported to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he is getting treated for his injuries, and he is conscious and speaking. The extent of his injuries are unknown.
"Fortunately, our well-trained team of the Louisville Fire Department that our world has seen before shined again today," said Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, during an evening news conference.
O'Neill said the worker was one of six city contractors on site for a demolition and fell into the hole around 11:40 a.m. before rubble and debris came down, pinning him.
"Basically, a floor gave way beneath him that collapsed, they fell down into an area and then all kinds of rubble and dirt and rock completely buried this individual," O'Neill said. "They were not just kind of stuck; they were completely buried."
O'Neill described the search as "part trench rescue" and "part confined-space rescue," adding he was speaking with the department during the entirety of the search.
"He was conscious and with us the entire time," O'Neill said.
Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, joined Chief O'Neill at the rescue. Both men thanked Louisville firefighters for the dedication. O'Neill said they are turning the site back over to the company doing the demolition. When asked about an investigation, O'Neill did not comment about what would happen next or if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would be investigating.
The Louisville fire chief said the worker fell in about 10 to 12 feet and only speaks Spanish; however, LFD had a translator on site to communicate with him. Spectrum News 1 spoke to a Louisville Metro Police Department officer who said the man's family was near the site's perimeter.
Greenberg confirmed the incident was on the site of the new LOUMED Commons, which will be a park and green space. “We are demolishing a city-owned building that is going to become a park,” Greenberg said.
LFD has members specially trained to handle trench rescues and structural collapses. Trench and structure rescues are dangerous because the areas they are working in are extremely unstable. Firefighters and rescue crews have to move slowly to make sure they shore and stabilize the area.
Spectrum News 1 spoke with retired fire chief Rich Carlson. He said the first thing crews want to do is “not make it worse.” Carlson said the pieces at the scene must be removed slowly so “things don’t shift out of place.”
Carlson, who is currently with Zoneton Fire Protection District, said the rescue crews on the scene have gone through an extensive and very long training process. There are different levels within the special operations units.
He added, "These are very labor intensive efforts. Sometimes only one person can get down to where the work is being done. They are looking at things they can do to be helpful".
Crews have dropped ropes and even a basket into the pit. Carlson said the basket is something they might put a patient in or even use it to secure the person to the basket. Carlson said it was a good sign the worker was communicating with rescuers and having the basket go down into the hole.
Carlson added, “You really want to take care of the person. You don’t want to cause any more harm than what already is.”
Thursday's accident is the second major incident this week for the Louisville Fire Department. On Tuesday, Nov. 12, an explosion rocked the Givaudan Sense Colour plant, killing two people.