WINGDALE – A 40-year-old employee at the Wingdale Materials quarry was trapped Tuesday afternoon when a boulder broke free and landed on his machine, trapping him 2,500 feet into a tunnel at the quarry.
A comprehensive rescue operation resulted in the man being rescued more than an hour after the 40-ton boulder pinned him in the cab of the machine. The original on-scene Mid-Hudson News report can be read HERE.
JH Ketcham Hose Company (Dover) Chief Ryan Sartori said his department, along with Dover Ambulance, were dispatched to the quarry at 1:32 p.m. on December 14 for the man trapped in a machine in the mine. Eight minutes later, Sartori requested additional resources including the Technical Rescue Team (TRT) and a Town of Amenia Ambulance to the Pleasant Ridge Road quarry.
The TRT is comprised of professional, highly trained firefighters from the LaGrange, Arlington, and Poughkeepsie fire departments. At approximately 2 p.m., a LifeNet helicopter landed at the quarry, owned by Peckham Industries, to transport the victim to a hospital after he was rescued from the tunnel.
Chief Sartori said that by 2 p.m., members of his department and Arlington firefighters had traveled approximately 2,500 feet into the mine and made contact with the victim. “He was conscious and alert, trapped inside the cab of his excavator by a large boulder that had dislodged from the mine’s wall, landing on the machinery,” the chief said.
Members of the TRT worked to stabilize the estimated 40-50-ton boulder and then extricate the patient from the machinery. Throughout the extrication, the patient received Advanced Life Support (ALS) care from LaGrange and Arlington paramedics.
Once removed from the tunnel, the patient was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center for treatment of injuries to both legs and one arm. The injuries are considered “non-life-threatening.”
Chief Sartori credited his volunteer department and the mutual aid from the TFT for a successful rescue. “The professionalism showed by all the agencies involved was second to none. There was a seamless integration of the specialized team from Arlington, Lagrange, and the City of Poughkeepsie,” he said. “I am proud of the members of the J. H. Ketcham Hose Company that are dedicated to protecting the Town of Dover and the work by all to effect a safe rescue today.”
