ALPENA — The Alpena City Fire Department was requested for a bulldozer rollover at the Holcim-Alpena Plant at 11:58 p.m. on Jan. 27 after an operator became trapped in a steep funnel of loose stone.
According to a Jan. 28 news release, upon arrival, crews were advised that a bulldozer working the top of a pile slid into a steep gravity-fed funnel of looser stone material that is fed into a bottom conveyor system with the machine operator still in the bulldozer.
The bulldozer remained at the bottom of the center of the pile, which was approximately 50 feet from the top. Fire command was informed that radio contact by plant personnel to the machine operator suggested that the injuries to the operator were not life-threatening at that time.
Once it was established that a technical high-angle rescue was necessary to access the bulldozer operator and remove the operator from the potentially dangerous area, the remaining on-duty shift was requested to respond and a request to the Alpena CRTC fire department for personnel and resources was requested. Command personnel worked with Holcim plant personnel and CRTC-FD command to consider different rescue options for the incident’s safety and success while rescue crews prepared.
The decision to lower a rescuer from the suspended conveyor system into the hole to the victim was made through a unified command as it was the most viable option. A lowering and haul system was set up for patient access and removal.
“One Alpena City Fire Department rescuer was lowered into the hole, accessed the victim, performed a quick assessment and placed the victim into a harness to prepare for raising out of the hole for treatment and transport,” the release said. “The rescue efforts were successful and the victim was safely removed from the incident and transported to MyMichigan Medical Center Emergency Department for further care and evaluation.”
The Alpena City Fire Department responded with eight on-duty shift personnel, the deputy chief and the fire chief with two off-duty personnel called in to staff the station.
Assisting at the scene were Alpena CRTC-FD personnel, Alpena City Police, Michigan State Police, Holcim-Alpena plant personnel, and the Alpena County 911 Central Dispatch. Crews cleared the scene at approximately 4 a.m.