SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Firefighters from the Spokane area rescued a worker on Monday who slipped and fell while inside a grain elevator.
The man was getting ready to receive a delivery when he fell approximately 19 feet, Spokane Valley Fire Department spokesperson Julie Happy said in a press release. It happened in the area of Alki Avenue and Fancher Road.
Once crews extricated the worker from the grain elevator, he was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries to his arm and leg that are not life-threatening.
SVFD Technical Rescue crews received help from the City of Spokane Fire Department's Technical Rescue Team. The rescue took approximately 25 to 30 minutes, Happy said. An air monitor was placed in the underground elevator shaft to ensure that quality air was available for the worker and rescuers.
SVFD trains regularly on technical rescue, a skill used regularly in the fire department's district, Happy said. The Technical Rescue Team is dedicated to rescuing victims of falls, both high and low angle, or any other situation where someone is unable to rescue themselves safely.
