HUNTLEY, IL — Firefighters rescued a contract worker stranded as high as 100 feet above the ground Thursday morning after the aerial lift he was operating began smoking and became inoperable, authorities said.
The Huntley Fire Protection District responded at 8:22 a.m. Thursday to the 10700 block of Kreutzer Road, where a worker was trapped in an elevated boom near the base of a Village of Huntley water tower. Firefighters arrived to find the lift smoking, although no flames were visible, according to fire officials. The adult male worker, who was reportedly cleaning the village's water tower, was unable to lower the lift to the ground.
Crews positioned the fire district's tower ladder truck and extended its aerial platform to reach the stranded worker. Firefighters then transferred the man into the platform and safely lowered him to the ground.
No injuries were reported.
"This was an unusual situation where the worker was left with no safe way to get himself back to the ground," Battalion Chief Mike Pierce said. "Our crews were able to position the tower ladder, reach him and bring him down safely. It was a good outcome for everyone involved."
The cause of the lift malfunction was not immediately available.
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