CLIFTON PARK, NY - On August 18th at 5:11 P.M., the Clifton Park Fire Department along with Clifton Park EMS were dispatched to 41 Sitterly Road for a bravo response for a male that reportedly fell into a six-foot deep trench and could not get out due to a possible ankle injury.

Car 19 called the dispatcher and requested further information on the call and learned that it was a construction site where a trench for a sewer or water line connection was dug, and the individual was trapped in the hole and it was filling with water. While en route to the scene the chief of Clifton Park FD immediately requested the Colonie Village Fire Co. for their trench rescue team to respond to the scene.

Car 19 quickly arrived on scene and discovered a six-feet deep by over 10-feet wide trench with a person trapped up to his waist in mud and water. Command immediately ordered all units responding into the scene to park their vehicles away from the job site to reduce the vibration on scene. Command requested the Town of Clifton Park's DPW to the scene with their VAC truck. Firefighters on scene immediately deployed an attic ladder down into the hole, but the trench conditions were rapidly deteriorating and the inner wall of the trench was slowly collapsing in towards the victim. Command also secured a mini excavator nearby and made sure that it was not running.

On arrival of the rescue company, firefighters and EMS quickly established good communication with the victim in the hole to keep him calm. Knowing this was going to be an extensive manpower incident, Command requested the Visher Ferry, Halfmoon-Waterford, Mechanicville, Hillcrest, and West Crescent Fire Departments to the scene, as well as the Jonesville Fire Department for their rehab bus. The Round Lake Fire Department was requested for a cover assignment, and a special request was made for the Momentive trench and high angle rescue team to respond to the scene.

The Colonie Village Fire Co. arrived on scene within 20 minutes of the initial dispatch with their specialized trench rescue rig and rescue one, along with multiple Colonie EMS personnel and a doctor from Albany Medical Center. Colonie Village's Chief made his way to the trench and quickly began to establish a size up plan for the rescue. Members of the trench rescue team quickly mobilized the large wooden stabilization pads and began to bring them down to the job site. Numerous firefighters began to off load close to a dozen Paratech rescue struts and large air systems in the staging area. Firefighters pulled all the ground boards and began to nail them together around the rim of the trench, making it safe for rescuers to work around the top of the trench.

Several senior trench rescue technicians on site made their way into the hole with the victim. Command requested Sitterly Road to be shut down to all traffic as the hole conditions were worsening due to vibrations. Chief Kayser of the Colonie Village Fire Co. assumed full operational command of the trench rescue while the chief of the Clifton Park FD took command of overseeing the incident. Operational command requested the trench rescue panels to be lowered into the trench on both sides and for the rescue struts to be expanded across the hole to establish stabilization of the walls around the trench. With the panels in place firefighters did not have to worry about shear wall collapse. Firefighters also took a trench rescue panel and laid it into the hole as the conditions inside of the hole were extremely treacherous with the soil mostly made up of clay, sand and mud which was causing the rescuers to sink into the hole.

Operational command requested a two-and-a-half inch hand line with a one-and-a-half inch connection for a hand line with a piercing nozzle to be established as they were going to attempt to loosen the clay and mud mixture from around the victim's trapped legs and torso. As firefighters worked in the hole attempting to get the victim out, paramedics on scene established an IV into the patient to keep him hydrated as he was starting to shiver, and the doctor on scene began to give him medication to prevent Crush Injury Syndrome.

After one hour into the incident trying to free the victim with no luck, Command requested a ditch witch to the scene. The light weight vacuum trailer AKA ditch witch quickly arrived on scene and firefighters began to stretch the 75-foot-long lengths of hose down to workers inside the hole. Firefighters quickly assembled the attachments for the ditch witch, but discovered a large hole in the suction line and quickly wrapped it with pairs of medical gloves, medical tape and duct tape in order to create a full suction on the line.

Crews established a bucket line and began to bring large amounts of mud out of the hole that was around the victim while exhausted rescuers inside the hole continued to work with the victim to get him out. Firefighters were eventually able to get a backboard down behind the victim and utilized a harness that was on him. A rope was connected to the harness so that the victim did not slide down into the mud any further.

Crews used the piercing nozzle to move mud from around the victim's legs and then began to loosen the legs, but stopped when the victim screamed in pain. Firefighters told the victim that they needed to get him out and continued to attempt to get a little movement from the victim. One of the rescuers/medics in the hole administered medication to the victim in order to reduce the amount of pain when they were working around his legs.

Rescuers inside of the hole continued for over an hour using the ditch witch to suck the mud out and away from the victim. After three hours in the hole, rescuers were finally able to maneuver enough mud away and released the suctions on the victim's legs. With help from the rope team above, the individual was freed from the mud and quickly taken to a nearby ambulance and transported to Albany Medical Center with a doctor on board.

Over 70 firefighters assisted on scene with the rescue. The victim that was trapped for over three hours in the hole was released from the hospital the next day with only a few bruises.