A man pinned down by fertiliser has been rescued in a cross-agency operation in Macarthur on Donovan’s Lane this afternoon.
The incident was initially called in as a trench collapse, prompting CFA, SES, police and ambulance services to prepare for the worst by sending a number of crews to the scene.
When they arrived, crews quickly established the situation was less complex, with the man having been trapped while tipping a truckload of fertiliser into a storage bunker when the substance unexpectedly covered him.
CFA District 5 Operations Officer Paul Marshall said, in true nature of incidents, crews adapted quickly to a different situation to what was first anticipated.
“We came prepared with our technical rescue specialists and equipment, which are required to manage the complexity of trench rescues.
“Luckily, we actually found the man conscious and breathing, but just unable to move so we changed our approach to just digging him out with shovels,” Mr Marshall said.
“It was a brilliant example of interoperability across emergency service agencies and we managed to get him out quickly and into the care of paramedics.”
CFA trucks from Broadwater, Hamilton, Macarthur and Warrnambool attended.
Author: CFA Media