By John B. Molenda, Assistant Fire Chief
Fort Lauderdale (FL) Fire-Rescue responded to a mutual aid request on October 8, 2010 when two men were reported trapped inside a 160-foot water tower in the City of Hollywood, Florida.
The Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Technical Rescue Team was requested to perform an elevated victim rescue with additional hazards not commonly faced with the average rope rescue incident. Hazards in the tower included the possibility of dangerous chemical fumes and a dangerously corroded railing. The curvature of the tank and the precarious position of the injured men along with the gusting winds made this a difficult rescue.
Photo by Paul Davis
The patients were identified as Meliso Valderrabano, 22, of Jacksonville, and Carlos Bustamante, 43, of Houston. The two men were transported to Hollywood Memorial Hospital for their injuries.
Valderrabano and Bustamante had been sandblasting and coating the inside of the 52-year-old tank when their scaffolding gave way and they dropped to the bottom of the tank about 11 a.m.
As they fell, one of the workers grabbed his cell phone. Despite being inside the tank, he was able to call for help. After making the call, he accidentally dropped his phone and it was lost in the one-foot thick layer of sawdust.
Within an hour, a full scale rescue was under way, with technical specialists from Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue mapping out a strategy to tackle the high angle/confined space rescue from the tank.
The operation involved monitoring the fumes inside, ventilating the space, building scaffolding to allow for entrance and egress, and dropping a rope down to the men to tug as a means of communication. Once inside, the rescuers performed two vertical extractions, hoisting the men through an 18-inch wide opening at the top of the tower and lowering the patients to the ground by way of a lowering system and stokes basket operation.
The dramatic rescue attracted national media attention and continues to demonstrate the need for special rescue teams. The members of Fort Lauderdale’s Technical Rescue Team train daily for these and other types of difficult rescues. The team has been in service for 20 years and continues to respond to incidents where specialists are required to mitigate complex disasters.
