VIDEO: A man trapped in a narrow space between a church wall and a dumpster enclosure for nearly a full day was rescued by Greeley firefighters in what officials described as a highly unusual operation.
The rescue occurred during the early morning hours of April 10, after a passerby heard the man yelling for help around 3 a.m. and called 911. โItโs fortunate that someone was walking by because it was 3 in the morning, so he had been there for some time,โ said Greeley Fire Department Lt. Matt Hawkins.
Emergency crews found the man wedged about 7 feet down in a narrow space between the structures.Lt. Matt Hawkins, who was on the scene, said the man had been trapped for a while, and theyโre not sure exactly how he became trapped. โHe was in that space for nearly 20 hours,โ Hawkins said.
โThis specific call is fairly unusual,โ said Deputy Chief Chris Ellmer. โI canโt think of a circumstance where weโve had this exact situation.โ Ellmer said his team considered multiple strategies, including possibly removing part of the building if necessary.
Instead, the team used equipment and techniques from their confined space and entrapment training. About a dozen firefighters worked together using rope to lift the man vertically out of the tight space. โThese are the two loops that we would loop around to put up by his chest,โ Hawkins said. โUsed this to pull him up vertically through a pulley system.โ
Firefighters said the man was slouched over when they arrived, prompting them to act quickly. The man was transported to a local hospital for injuries.
