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, authorities said.
Paramedics transported the man, who was in critical condition, to a regional trauma center. Two rescuers were treated for heat exhaustion and one was hospitalized, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“The adult male construction worker was skillfully rescued from an unstable trench at a residential construction site,” 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 nurse practitioners and several paramedics. As rescuers worked, the heat soared; 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 ground gave way around him, burying him up to his chest, Scott said.
Firefighters responded to the home in the 2300 block of North Catalina Street, about a mile south of Griffith Observatory, shortly before 11 a.m. and found the worker trapped in the dirt and concrete trench.
They began carefully removing dirt using a vacuum and pneumatic knives, Scott said. Firefighters were also using hydraulic rams to make sure the 3-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep trench didn't collapse any further.
Scott described the rescue as “a very slow, strategic and surgical process.”
As they worked, rescuers worked to “reduce vibration and personnel near the trench” to prevent more soil from collapsing, he said.
By 1:55 p.m., rescuers had removed dirt up to the trapped man's thigh, but needed to remove more before pulling him out of the trench using a pulley system, Scott said.
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.
In addition to the heat, Scott said, there were concerns “about possible crush injuries to the victim.”
Southern California is experiencing a scorching heat wave that is expected to last through the weekend, bringing triple-digit temperatures to much of the region, including Los Feliz.
