“SURFING” ACCIDENT REQUIRES TECHNICAL RESCUE
BY GEORGE BOREK
The type of “surfing” discussed here has nothing to do with ocean waves or computers. It involves an elevator. Elevator surfing is an activity engaged in by inner-city youths looking for a cheap thrill. It turns a darkened elevator shaft in a public high-rise building into a mechanical playground. Youths climb to the top of an elevator car through the emergency escape hatch or by forcing open the access doors to the hall.
Elevator surfing is very common on the East Coast, but it is engaged in in other areas of the country as well. In some locations, it may be referred to as “riding the freight.” Reasons for such surfing include harassing passengers, searching for hidden drugs or weapons that sometimes are stashed in the shaft, and simply accepting a dare to jump or “surf” from car to car as the cars pass in the dark shaft, high above ground level. The latter was the case in the incident that tested the skills, ingenuity, and equipment of the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department.
THE INCIDENT
Wednesday, June 26, 1996, was a relatively slow day for Rescue Company 1 and the other units of the Fourth Battalion. Schools had been dismissed for the year, and the “dog days” of summer were fast approaching. As evening approached, some of the city`s children were cooling off in the gentle streams of hydrant sprinkler caps. Some older youths, however, had more daring games in mind.
At 0118 hours, Central Office dispatched Engine Company 9 and Rescue 1 to District 521, 336 Duncan Avenue, for an “elevator emergency.” The fire department knew the address well–as Building #5 of the eight 12-story buildings that make up the A. Harry Moore Public Housing Projects.
On our arrival, two young people were quickly exiting the elevator. They indicated that nothing was wrong and that the elevators were operating normally. As the units were about to leave the complex, a group of excited residents informed the firefighters that they heard screams coming from the left elevator shaft on the seventh floor.
The members of Rescue One entered the building with forcible entry hand tools, a hydraulic door opener, elevator keys, and handlights. As they entered the first-floor lobby, they could hear faint screams in the elevator shaft serving the odd-numbered floors. They immediately ascended the stairs to the seventh floor, where the screams became louder. Excited tenants were pounding on the elevator door and telling the victim to “hold on” and that the fire department would get him out.
Using the elevator keys, firefighters quickly opened the hall door and discovered a bloody 15-year-old boy hanging upside down in the empty shaft; the elevator was above him. The only thing preventing him from plummeting seven stories to his death was his right leg, which was caught between the elevator wall and the steel elevator track.
This housing proj-ect is served by two elevators that are side-by-side in a common shaft. The elevator on the left side exits only on the odd-numbered floors; the right elevator services the even-numbered floors. The victim was trapped at the top of the opening of the seventh-floor doorway, but his leg was being held by the elevator that was stalled in the “blind” shaft on the eighth floor. It was impossible to determine from below exactly how the boy`s foot was trapped or how it could be released.
Knowing that this rescue would tax the personnel available, Captain Frank Bentivegna of Rescue 1 ordered Central Office to fill out a full first-alarm box assignment. This would bring to the scene three additional engines, two truck companies, the Fourth Battalion, and the safety officer.
THE OPERATION
The victim was assessed to determine the extent of his injuries. It was quickly determined that he had severe trauma that included a head laceration, abdominal injuries, and a badly fractured leg. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was called to the scene.
It became obvious that simultaneously we would have to do the following:
Shut down electrical power to the elevators.
Bring to the seventh floor equipment needed to stabilize the victim and release his leg.
Treat the victim.
A crew with forcible entry tools and an hydraulic door opener raced to the roof-mounted elevator penthouse, forced the door, and disconnected the power to both elevators. An inadvertent move by either elevator car could have proven disastrous for the victim and rescuers. One member stayed with the controls until a “lock-out/ tag-out” kit was retrieved from the apparatus and the elevator power switches were secured.
A second crew was dispatched downstairs to advise the incoming battalion chief of the conditions above, retrieve additional equipment from the apparatus, and direct incoming companies to help carry heavy tools to the seventh floor.
A working platform was constructed by spanning the shaft horizontally with two 14-foot combination ladders, which were narrow enough to fit on either side of the rear wall track and side-by-side in the open hallway door. The beams were resting on an eight-inch ledge in the rear of the shaft, where they were secured to the track with a 5,000-pound anchor strap. Two wooden backboards were laid on the ladders and tied in place.
To prevent the victim from falling if he were to become freed unexpectedly, a life line was tied around his chest and secured in the hallway.
Fourth Battalion Chief Timothy Kearney took command of the incident and assigned the rescue captain to the seventh floor, the captain of Engine 9 to the eighth floor, an additional company officer as staging officer, and the safety officer to oversee safety.
The Plan
The operational plan would have the crew on the eighth floor attempt to breach the blind shaft to determine how the victim`s foot could be released. Members on the seventh floor would support the victim, coordinate the release, and safely transfer him across the open shaft to the medical technicians waiting in the hallway.
The logistical sector transported an array of masonry-breaching tools to the eighth floor. Coincidentally, the captain overseeing the eighth-floor operation had previously served as a firefighter with the rescue company and knew which tools were available and how to use them.
Electric and air-operated hammer tools were used to make a series of exploratory holes in the eighth-floor hallway, a distance from the boy`s location so that he would not be endangered, to determine how to access his leg. Looking through these holes, aided by the light from below, we ascertained that the elevator shaft wall would have to be breached from the adjoining stairwell.
A 3.5-kw portable generator and heavy-duty electric jackhammer were hand-carried to the eighth floor, and the breaching began. A small hole was made in the wall by carefully using a combination of a jackhammer, a sledgehammer, and hand tools. As visibility into the shaft improved, the hole, just adjacent to the victim`s leg, was expanded to approximately two feet by three feet. His ankle was firmly wedged between the wall and the elevator and could not be released without removing the track. The logistics officer was asked for a five-ton air bag.
On the seventh floor, a stepladder was set up from the platform to the side wall. A firefighter supported the victim and shielded him from the hazards of the debris generated by the breaching operation.
After the air bag was in place, rescuers on the seventh floor were notified and then commanded to effect a controlled, slow, and deliberate release. As the air bag was inflated, the elevator car moved horizontally, freeing the patient`s ankle. Firefighters below supported the broken ankle and gently passed him out to the EMS workers, who immediately began treatment.
The victim was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center for treatment; he remained there for four weeks. This complex rescue operation took approximately 35 minutes.
After the operation, the rescuers wondered why the car didn`t knock the boy from the shaft when unsuspecting passengers pressed the call buttons on the various floors. An investigation by the housing authority elevator mechanics determined that the zipper on the boy`s coat became caught in the elevator mechanism and held open a limit switch, disabling the elevator.
LESSONS LEARNED AND REINFORCED
The safety of the victim and the rescuers are paramount in an operation such as this.
Once the power has been shut down, it should be locked out with a lock controlled only by rescue personnel and tagged. This will prevent some unsuspecting maintenance person from restoring power and threatening the safety of the operation.
There is no substitute for familiarity with and experience in using the tools and equipment available on the apparatus. How well a tool will breach masonry should be known before an emergency occurs.
Routinely maintaining tools is extremely important. For example, it would be a shame, and serious, if a heavy generator that had been carried up eight stories could not be started.
The ability to improvise with the equipment on hand is invaluable.
Anyone operating in a dangerous situation such as this one must use a safety line and harness.
The chances for a favorable outcome are improved when it is determined early in the operation that additional personnel and equipment will be needed.
Using the incident command system to divide the tasks into sectors makes the overall operation more efficient. Don`t forget about logistics and the need to provide relief for rescuers during lengthy operations.
Use the expertise of the personnel on the scene to best advantage.
The skills and training of the fire department personnel who responded to this incident and the availability of the appropriate equipment contributed to a favorable outcome. In a technical rescue operation, there are no substitutes for ongoing familiarization with tools, training, simulations, and practice. n
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(Top left) A work platform was constructed with two 14-foot combination ladders and backboards. Note that a claw tool was used to hold the hall door open. [Photos by Steve McGill, PIO, Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department.] (Bottom left) Exploratory holes were made on the eighth floor in an attempt to determine where and how the victim`s leg was trapped. The holes were positioned far enough away from the trapped victim so that he would not be endangered. (Top right) The cinder block wall of the elevator shaft had to be breached to effect the release of the victim`s leg. The opening was begun on the right side and then was carefully expanded toward the area of the leg`s entrapment, indicated by an arrow. (Bottom right) A view of the bottom of the stalled elevator car and the track holding the victim`s leg as seen when looking up from the seventh-floor hall opening. The arrow indicates the area of entrapment.
GEORGE BOREK is a 16-year veteran of the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department, where he has served with Rescue Company 1 for the past six years. He is also a high-angle and confined-space rescue instructor.
