By FireRescue1 Staff
NEW YORK — A firefighter was lowered 200 feet into an elevator shaft and rescued four trapped workers.
NY Daily News reported that James Dowdell rescued a Con Edison employee and three contractors when the elevator got stuck between floors at a Brooklyn Con Edison plant, according to authorities.
“Members of Squad 1 tried to access the bottom of [the elevator] but it wasn’t easily accessible,” Dowdell said. “We talked about it and realized that the best way to do this was send a member down.”
The rescue was the first time Dowdell had ever lowered into an elevator shaft, but he had practiced several times.
“There were some lights in the shaft because they used it pretty often,” Dowdell said. “We also monitored the atmosphere to make sure it was safe to breathe.”
Firefighter Anthony Viverito squeezed into the elevator car from underneath and strapped the victims into harnesses. They were then pulled up to safety.
“I’m just happy it all worked out,” Dowdell said. “Everybody in the whole fire department did a great job and everyone is home safe.”
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