A construction worker was freed from an 8-foot-deep trench in Los Feliz on Thursday after a nearly six-hour rescue operation amid dangerous heat, officials said.
Paramedics transported the man, who was in serious condition, to a regional trauma center. Two rescuers were treated for heat exhaustion, with one hospitalized, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“The adult male construction worker was skillfully removed from the unstable … trench of a residential building,” the department said in a statement.
More than 80 firefighters worked on the rescue, along with a “full medical team,” LAFD spokesman Erik Scott told The Times. The team included two nurses and several paramedics. As rescuers worked, the heat rose; the temperature in Los Feliz on Thursday was forecast to reach 106 degrees.
The trapped man had been working on renovations in the backyard of a hillside home Thursday morning when the dirt gave way around him and buried him up to his chest, according to Scott.
Firefighters responded to the home in the 2300 block of North Catalina Street, about a mile south of Griffith Observatory, just before 11 a.m. and found the worker trapped in the dirt and concrete trench.
They began carefully removing dirt using vacuums and pneumatic knives, Scott said. Firefighters also used hydraulic rams to ensure the 3-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep trench didn’t dig in any further.
Scott described the rescue as “a very slow and strategic and surgical-like process.”
As rescuers worked, they strove to “reduce vibrations and personnel near the trench,” to avoid causing more dirt to fall in, he said.
As of 1:55 p.m., emergency crews had removed dirt down to the trapped man’s thigh but needed to remove more before hoisting him out of the trench using a pulley system, according to Scott.
The man was “alert and conscious” at the time, Scott said. Paramedics had managed to connect an IV to his free arm to administer the appropriate medication, he said.
Along with the heat, Scott said, there was concern “about crushing injuries to the victim,” Scott said.
Southern California is experiencing a blistering event heat wave which is expected to last through the weekend, bringing triple-digit temperatures to some areas, including Los Feliz.