ORLANDO, Fla. --
A local teenager is now out of danger. Rescue crews pulled him to safety after he was trapped in a conveyer belt at a local recycling center.
The whole ordeal lasted more than an hour. The 17-year-old worker was immediately flown to the hospital.
The scene unfolded at Green Tire Recycling on Boggy Creek Road in Orange County.
Firefighters say it appears the worker slipped at the base of the machine that moves tires from the ground up into a shredder. Rescuers say he was taken to the hospital in stable condition and on a lot of pain medication.
His left leg was wrapped up in the plant's conveyor belt from his knee down.
"He was face down on the conveyor belt, like he slipped near the bottom of the conveyor belt," says Orange County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Jon Haskett.
Air Care stood by waiting to fly him to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Firefighters had to move tires to even get to the worker and the machine.
Daylight turned to darkness as the special operations unit raced against the clock to come up with a plan.
"We make sure medically he's stable, because there's some long-term effects you can have with your leg trapped. At the same time, you want to keep his spirits up," says Firefighter Dustin Pierce.
Pierce stayed with the worker, keeping him alert and as calm as could be.
"When we ask for a scalpel, we had to let him know, 'We're not cutting anything on you, we're just getting rid of more of your pants,'" says Pierce.
Crews worked more than an hour to finally free his leg.
"We were able to manipulate it enough, manipulate the belt, his leg and pants. It all kind of came together. We lifted him up and got him out," Pierce says.
The worker had a short ambulance ride down the street to the waiting chopper. He was silent. Crews say they are relieved.
"I'm happy, I'm happy he's free," says Pierce.
Firefighters say it's now up to surgeons whether the worker will get to keep that part of his leg, but they say it was a good sign he was starting to get feeling back.
OSHA has been notified about this industrial accident.
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