DC Rescue Teams Use Crane To Remove Injured Construction Workers

WASHINGTON, DC — D.C. Fire and EMS rescue personnel used a crane and rescue basket Tuesday morning to lift two injured workers up out of at a Southwest construction site.

Around 7:30 a.m., D.C. Fire and EMS units responded to the report of a construction accident in the 600 block Maine Ave., S.W.

"When we arrived, we found two adult males who had been working inside this construction area. They were hit by falling materials," said Vito Maggiolo, public information officer with D.C. Fire and EMS. "Both suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries."

After administering primary care, the rescue teams decided the best way to remove the victims without further injury was to use a rescue basket lifted by the construction site's crane.

"It's something we train to do and actually do relatively frequently with all of the construction that's taking place in town," Maggiolo said.

The rescue teams placed each victim one at a time in a stokes basket, which is a wire-mesh rescue basket, according to Magglio. Then, they were lifted out with a firefighter riding alongside.

"This often happens because of the accessibility issues," he said. "This is often the safest way to safely remove a patient in those environments. It's something we trained for."

D.C. Fire and EMS posted a video of the extrication of the first victim on its Twitter account.

Update construction accident 600 block Maine Ave SW. 1 injured worker extracted by #DCsBravest via crane and will be transported serious non life threatening injuries. The 2nd will be removed in the same fashion. pic.twitter.com/iWEIDe8TXR
— DC Fire and EMS #StayHomeDC (@dcfireems) July 14, 2020

Once both victims had been remove from the construction site, they were transported to area hospitals to be treated for their injuries.

D.C. Fire and EMS were able to wrap up the rescue operation in about one hour. The department notified the District's Emergency Management Agency to alert the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the D.C. Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs, so they could conduct their investigations of the accident.

D.C. Fire and EMS conducted a similar rescue operation using a crane and stokes basket lift last week when a worker was injured at the same construction site, according to Magglio.