Calgary,
10
January
2023
|
12:03
America/Denver

Calgary Fire Crews Respond for Man Trapped in Garbage Truck

At approximately 10:20 on the morning of Tuesday, January 10, 2023, Calgary fire crews were dispatched to the 3000 block of 17th Avenue S.E. for a confined space rescue.  A garbage truck had picked up a dumpster, lifted it overhead and emptied it into the back of the truck. The driver then compacted the contents and picked up another load, emptying that into the back. The driver then heard something, checked his camera and saw that there was a person  in the back of his truck amongst all the garbage. He immediately stopped the vehicle and went to the back to try and help. 

An EMS crew was first on scene and boarded to truck to try and get the patient out.  Arriving CFD crews quickly called the Technical Rescue Team for support due to the unique  circumstances of the scene. The patient, who was breathing and conscious, was put into a special hard back harness and under some of his own power, was lifted by rescuers out of the garbage truck and lowered to the ground. An initial assessment of his condition could be characterized as having sustained moderate injuries from the compaction process. He was transported to hospital by EMS. 

On scene District Chief Brent Neil was quoted as saying, “had the  garbage truck been full, his injuries would have been much more serious if not fatal”.

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