Bystanders Help Save Worker Pinned By Concrete Slab
Several bystanders and Winnipeg firefighters are credited with saving the life of a worker for Winnipeg-based Fox Contracting who was pinned in a narrow trench under a 700-pound chunk of concrete last week.
At around 9 a.m., the worker was crouched in the hole, which was about half a metre wide and three metres deep, as he worked to repair the foundation of a 105-year-old house in St. Boniface. Suddenly, a long, narrow piece of concrete broke off and fell on his back, trapping him in the hole.
Five bystanders, led by an infantryman who had just returned from Afghanistan, heard the cries of that worker and a co-worker, and worked quickly, tying a rope around the three-metres-long concrete slab, and used all their strength to lift it just enough to prevent it from crushing the worker. Though the rope kept slipping and caused some rope burns, they managed to hold on for at least ten minutes until Winnipeg Fire Department emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
As the bystanders held on, firefighters used a jack to lift the concrete slab slightly, then tied a second rope around it so as to lift it just enough for the worker to crawl to safety. At that point, two firefighters pulled the worker from the trench.
The worker was then taken to Health Sciences Centre, where he was in stable condition.
Police and Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health officials are investigating the incident.
Tags: health and safety training, injury, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Safety, Worker Safety
Print This Post