Firefighters Make Daring Rescue on Reston High-Rise Building

RESTON, VA — Firefighters had to get creative Friday afternoon after a worker on the fifth floor of a high-rise building under construction in Reston had a medical emergency and needed rescuing.

Units from Reston Fire Station 25 and North Point Fire Station 39 responded to a medical call Oct. 28 at around 12:17 p.m. for a worker on the fifth floor of a building under construction, according to a report from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. The report didn't identify the building, but based on the pictures it appears to be Bozzuto's new Signature Apartments building in Reston Town Center.

The rescue was more than a little challenging because of the circumstances, the report noted.

"Since there were no interior stairs or elevators as yet, crews had to remove the patient another way," it states. "Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Technical Rescue units, in conjunction with the construction site foreman and tower crane operator, devised a plan to remove patient. The patient was secured into a stokes basket and lowered to the ground, by the tower crane, after which the patient was transported to an area hospital."

Master Technician Contreras tended to the patient while they were lowered to the ground.

The condition of the worker was not indicated in the report.

Image via Fairfax County Fire and Rescue