Crews use crane to rescue injured worker at Edward Hospital
Naperville firefighters used a construction crane Wednesday morning to rescue a man who was injured while doing outside construction work on the roof of Edward Hospital.
The man, whose identity was not being released, was above the fourth floor of the west building about 8 a.m. when construction material fell on him and injured him, according to an Edward Hospital spokesman.
“He had a fall — not to the ground — but on that top level,” Naperville Fire Department Bureau Chief Kevin Lyne said.
He said firefighters climbed stairways and a construction ladder to get to the worker, then called for a specialized rescue team because of the limited access to the area.
That brought 10 additional firefighters to the scene at 801 S. Washington St. to work with the five who responded initially to bring the man to safety.
Using a piece of rescue equipment called a Stokes basket, Lyne said firefighters secured the worker so he could be lowered to the ground by a construction crane already on site.
“We secured him in that (basket), attached that to the hook on the crane and coordinated the efforts to get him down with the crane operators,” Lyne said.
The man was put in an ambulance and transported to Edward’s emergency department. Lyne said the rescue took between 30 and 40 minutes.
At least four of the 10 firefighters on scene had undergone training in rope operations and rope technician skills that assisted with the rescue, Lyne said. The 40- and 80-hour programs also address tactics such as crane-assisted rescues.
Fire departments in Naperville and other communities can send firefighters to the training courses because of federal funding through the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, Lyne said.
Edward Hospital is constructing a two-story addition to the west building of its Naperville campus to add a new intensive care unit with 24 beds, a new orthopedic and spine care unit with 36 beds and a new inpatient therapy gym. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of the year, according to the construction page of the hospital’s website.
No other workers or firefighters were injured during Wednesday’s accident or rescue, authorities said. Construction resumed shortly after the accident and hospital operations were not affected.
Ÿ Daily Herald Staff Writer Justin Kmitch contributed to this report.