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The man’s lift malfunctioned, leaving him stuck with no escape route
NEED TO KNOW
- A man was rescued from a gas station sign after he spent three hours trapped approximately 130 feet in the air
- The incident occurred in Illinois on July 21, after the man’s lift malfunctioned while he was working
- Local fire department ladders weren’t tall enough to reach him, so it took additional time for a suitable lift to be found before he could be taken to safety
A man was rescued from approximately 130 feet in the air after spending several hours trapped inside of a highway gas station sign in Illinois.
The man — who has not been identified — was reportedly working on the elevated sign in Wilmington, a city about 60 miles southwest of Chicago, on Tuesday, July 21, according to a press release shared with PEOPLE by the Wilmington Fire Protection District.
His telescopic boom lift malfunctioned, leaving him trapped. The fire department was alerted at approximately 2 p.m. local time, roughly three hours after he started working.
Authorities from the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Division 15 Technical Rescue Team responded to the incident, according to the fire department. The agency provides aid with rescue situations across Illinois.
There was no ladder in the sign, so the man was unable to climb to safety, and first responders could not reach him. Additionally, local fire department ladders only reached a height of 100 feet, according to reporting by local outlet WGN9 and ABC affiliates ABC7 and WISN.
The fire department and rescue team eventually found a lift that was tall enough in the nearby city of Joliet. Illinois State Police helped escort the lift to the site, where it was set up.
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The man was safely removed from the sign at approximately 4 p.m. local time.
He was examined in a fire department ambulance, ABC7 reported. However, he refused additional medical treatment and is expected to be fine.
The outlet reported that he seemed to be “in good spirits” despite the ordeal.
“Although unconventional means were used to effect the rescue due to circumstances, everyone went home safe and uninjured yesterday,” Deputy Chief Todd Friddle told PEOPLE in an email.
Read the original article on People
