Fla. Firefighters Rescue Man Trapped by Forklift

Feb. 12--St Petersburg Fire & Rescue units helped free a man who was trapped in a forklift this afternoon.

Crews were called to Northeast Marine, 1801 28th St. N., about 12:45 p.m. on a report that a man had both feet trapped inside of a forklift. The man, sub-contacted by Northeast Marine to work on the forklift, was trapped between the forks and a stabilizer bar called a stage.

The man had propped wood under the forks to hold them up. While standing on top of a stabilizer bar, however, the wood snapped, causing the forks to come crashing down and pining the man's feet, Fire & Rescue said.

Firefighters and Technical Rescue Team members used hydraulic tools to free the man. The man was given oxygen, IV fluids and pain medication during the 31-minute extraction process, firefighters said.

After he was freed, the man was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in stable condition.

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