Eight-Hour Rescue Effort Saves Worker in Kentucky Demolition Accident
Construction workers and Louisville Metro Fire Department use a vacuum to remove debris during a rescue in Louisville, Ky.
Photo: Timothy D. Easley/AP
A long, delicate rescue operation in Louisville succeeded in removing an injured demolition worker who had fallen through to what rescuers described as a void beneath the solid outdoor grade level of a demolished building, where he had been pinned by debris for eight hours.
The accident occurred at LouMed, a district developed for health-related organizations and businesses.
The identity of the man, who fell about 10 ft to 12 ft at about 11:40 a.m. on November 14, has not been disclosed. He remained conscious and communicated with his rescuers in Spanish, according to media reports.
The employer and other project team members in the accident have not yet been disclosed or reported by local media.
After the fall, the worker was "completely buried, they were not just stuck, in all kinds of rubble and dirt and rock," said Louisville Fire Department Chief Brian O'Neill.
The rescue culminated after dark, when the victim was removed and loaded into an ambulance. News photographers captured different parts of the effort, including a vacuum being used to remove soil and small rocks.
The long hours of rescue were need to carefully remove material from around the victim without endangering him further.
Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new smart AI search tool.
Ask ENR →
Other Kentucky demolition workers have not been as fortunate, as records show multiple fatal accidents in recent years.
In October 2023 two workers, Billy Ra Daniels and Alvin Nees, died when an 11-story coal tipple at the Martin Mine Prep Plant in Martin County collapsed, according to OSHA records of penalties proposed by the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet. Daniels and Nees had been conducting demolition operations for a site preparation contractor, Skeens Enterprises, when the tipple collapsed, trapping them under the rubble.
Last April, state officials proposed $31,000 in safety penalties against Skeens Enterprises, all of which the company is contesting, OSHA records show.
A longer view of the Louisville, Ky., jobsite where rescuers were able to save a demolition worker who they say fell into and was trapped in a void. Photo: Timothy D. Easley/AP
In May 2022, construction worker Domingo Cruz, 44, was performing demolition work on a corrugated metal roof in Walnut Grove, Ky., when he fell through a skylight to the concrete floor 18 ft below. He later died of his injuries.
Cruz was removing roofing components when he walked backward and stepped onto the skylight, which broke under his weight. Of $28,000 in fines proposed against his employer, Fabco Inc., by state labor safety officials, only $7,000 has been informally settled, according to OSHA records. The company could not immediately be reached for comment about the rest of the proposed penalties.
The accident was the subject of an extensive investigation report by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
