"It was just a total, like, a well-oiled machine working in there."
That's how Charleroi Fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. described crews involved in the trench rescue operation that lasted five hours. A vacuum machine was used to remove dirt.
"And it paid off. The individual walked out. He seemed to be in pretty good shape, pretty good spirits," he told WTAE early Friday morning.
The worker, who had been trapped in the 15-foot-deep trench, was taken to a Pittsburgh-area hospital with an ankle injury.
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.
