Release from Hutchinson Fire on trench collapse:
On Tuesday July 27th at 1717 hours, the Hutchinson Fire Department was dispatched for a trench rescue incident at 1707 East Blanchard Avenue.
First arriving fire units found a 24-year-old male buried up to his waist in a 12’x12’x8’ deep hole that had collapsed on him. The individual was buried in a wet slurry mix and was unable to extricate himself. Fire crews immediately requested mutual aid from Newton and Sedgwick County Fire Departments due to the high heat and labor-intensive operations.
The individual was in the hole replacing a 4-inch sewer line when the collapse occurred. It took fire crews 3 hours and 12 minutes to safely extricate the individual from the hole. No other injuries occurred.
Fire crews battled a low ground water table which in turn had created a large amount of water seeping into the collapsed hole. Fire crews worked in 30-minute shifts, were then rehydrated, and placed back in the work rotation to keep crews fresh. Once extricated, the individual was transported by Reno County EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. Injuries are unknown at this time.
The Hutchinson Fire Department was assisted by the Reno County 911 Dispatch Center, Hutchinson Police Department, South Hutchinson Police Departments Light Trailer, Newton Fire Department, Sedgwick County Fire Department, Reno County EMS, City of Hutchinson Department of Public Works, Reno County Emergency Management and Dig Rite of Hutchinson.
UPDATE
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Fire and rescue crews from Reno, Harvey and Sedgwick counties all responded to the scene of a man who was trapped in an 8-foot deep hole for more than three hours Tuesday evening in Hutchinson.
According to Hutchinson Fire Chief Steve Beer, the man was working in a hole repairing a sewer line when it partially collapsed, pinning him against the sewer line around 5:14 p.m. Crews worked in teams of three during the entire rescue to help keep water out of the hole and attempted to free him. The man was freed around 8:45 p.m. and was taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. His name was not released.
"This is the third rescue of this kind I've been a part of," Beer said. "Usually they don't turn out like this, we're usually trying to recover a body."
Beer noted the situation was made even more difficult with the very unstable sandy soil that is a part of this area. Crews from all three counties that are a part of the Region 5 Task Force were on the scene to assist, including the Sedgwick County Heavy Rescue unit and Reno County Emergency Management.
We'll have more on Hutch Post as it becomes available.
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HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A man was stuck in a large hole Tuesday evening at a mobile home park in Hutchinson.
Crews came out to the Creekside homes park to free the man shortly after he got stuck around 5:15. It took about 3 1/2 hours to free him.
Check Hutch Post for continuing updates on this situation.
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