Port Colborne firefighters rescue man from ship’s hold after fall
Using a rope system and a crane, Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services firefighters removed a patient from the hold of a vessel being scrapped at Marine Recycling Corp.
Fire Chief Scott Lawson said a medical call was received at 8:30 a.m. Thursday for someone who had fallen inside a ship at the recycling site on Lake Road.
“At the time of dispatch, we didn’t know where the patient was. Once we found out they were still on board, we upgraded it to a general call because we needed our rope team for access.”
Workers were carrying out asbestos abatement on board the vessel, believed to be the former Lower Lakes Towing Inc.’s Manistee.
“That slowed things down a lot for us. We immediately sent a firefighter on board in full protective gear, including SCBA, to carry out a patient assessment.”
Lawson said the patient was in a “dirty room” and a second firefighter also went on board in full protective gear.
The worker, who fell roughly two metres off a ladder, was wearing insulated coveralls with protective gear, a Tyvek suit, underneath.
“Access was tricky because he was about 10 metres down in the belly of the ship. So we set a rope system to pull him out and a crane to lift him off the ship.”
Lawson said firefighters were decontaminated after the rescue, as was the patient before being handed off to Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics for assessment and transport.
Niagara EMS spokesperson Bryce Brunarski said the male complained of back pain and was taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
Welland Tribune
