(Updated at 6:25 p.m.) A worker buried up to his shoulders in dirt after a trench collapse has been rescued by firefighters.
It happened around 3:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of S. Buchanan Street, a couple of blocks from Wakefield High School. Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County firefighters were dispatched to the scene for a report of a construction worker buried after a trench dug around a house collapsed.
It took a large contingent of firefighters about 75 minutes to finally free the worker, following an extended technical rescue operation. The worker was taken to a local trauma center but is expected to be okay.
#UPDATE – one victim trapped up to shoulders was removed, extrication took approx 75 minutes. Transported to local trauma center with non-life threatening injuries. End of update. pic.twitter.com/XnCHOxKXoJ
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) June 25, 2022
Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Justin Tirelli said the worker was doing foundation work at the time.
“At approximately 3:30pm, Arlington County Fire Department was alerted to a contractor who was trapped in a trench that collapsed,” Tirelli told ARLnow. “The contractor was doing foundation work at a single family residence when the soil around him caved in and covered his body up to his shoulders. ACFD Technical Rescue Team was immediately dispatched and called for assistance from the Alexandria Technical Rescue Team and one unit from Fairfax County’s Technical team.”
He continued: “Upon arrival, ACFD crews assessed that the worker’s breathing was being hindered from the surrounding soil. Crews immediately cleared space around the workers chest which improved his breathing. Crews then methodically secured the trench and carefully removed the soil until they could remove him. This process took approximately 75 minutes and due to the length of the entrapment, additional medical procedures were performed to reduce the possibility of further injury.”
“The victim was transported with non-life threatening injuries to a local trauma center,” Tirelli added. “We do not have any updates on the current condition of the victim.”