Wausau Pilot & Review
Rescue crews on Monday freed an injured man who was trapped inside a silo at a town of Pine River farm, according to fire officials.
The Pine River Fire Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and Merrill EMS responded at about 5 p.m. Monday to the farm, where a man who was performing routine silo maintenance was caught in the auger and trapped about 30 feet above the ground. Through a MABAS Box Alarm, Merrill Fire also responded with a ladder truck, allowing crews access through the top of the 50-foot silo.
An Aspirus Medevac helicopter was also paged to the scene due to the potential lengthy extrication, according to a Pine River Fire Facebook post. The helicopter landed in a nearby field and waited while rescue workers gained access to the man and determined that his injuries were severe.
The extrication process took nearly 90 minutes. but the man was eventually rescued from the silo. He was medically stabilized and transferred to the waiting helicopter before being flown to the trauma center at Aspirus.
Chief John Uttech said more than a dozen volunteer and career firefighters were on the scene, four of which are certified fire instructors. “None of them had ever seen, much less had ever heard of an actual recovery of a viable patient from an incident such as this,” Uttech wrote. “The Pine River Fire Department wished to extend our continued prayers for the recovery of the victim, and we are grateful for all of our partners in making this incident a successful rescue.”
Photos courtesy of the Pine River Fire Department
