Washington DC firefighters cut through layers of rubble for more than an hour Thursday night to rescue a construction worker from the debris of a building that was collapsed in the northwest of the United States capital , reported NBC4 .
A special operations team with firefighters and medical personnel spoke with the man throughout the rescue process, and he was alert, aware and talking when they took him out of the collapsed building on the block 900 of Kennedy Street NW , said Fire Chief John Donnelly .
Major collapse 900 block Kennedy St NW. Full collapse of a building under construction. 1 person trapped and several others injured. pic.twitter.com/9Uc8UixsFl
– DC Fire and EMS ( @dcfireems) July 1, 2021
Donnelly said that The worker was trapped in what is known as a “pancake collapse” under three floors of debris, with only eight inches of space around him.
A K-9 dog sniffed the place where the man, which helped firefighters work on his removal.
This was the first victim detection for a rescue for Kimber, the dog who helped locate the worker trapped in the rubble.
Such a good doggo. Really a privilege to work alongside @ dcfireems https://t.co/ZeGmoLEocn
– GW EM Residency (@GWEMresidency) July 2, 2021
The teams used chainsaws, electric saws, levers and hand job site to meticulously cut through rubble.
Super Job by DCFD on the Rescue of a person trapped under a 5 story building collapse. 5 others were also trapped on top of the structure. Photos by Elliot Goodman pic.twitter.com/6H7UUfQYma
– DCFIREBYE (@DCFIREBYE) July 1, 900
Donnelly said the man is very lucky to be alive. We’ve seen these before where people don’t so he was definitely blessed today, ”said Donnelly.
The firefighters said that as soon as the man left he asked for two things: water and someone to call his mother.
– DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) July 1, 2021
The firefighters also rescued four other workers from the rubble shortly after the collapse, and all have non-life-threatening injuries, said the fire Department.
Two houses to the left of the building were evacuated, but do not appear to be in danger of collapse at the moment, although they suffered serious damage and will need to be inspected, authorities said.
Strong storms occurred in the area at the time of the collapse, with wind gusts of up to 60 mph.
The authorities informed that it is too early to know the cause of the collapse.