LAFD: Heavy Rescue - Victim trapped in paint mixer

Firefighters Free Man From Industrial Paint Mixer

On Monday, December 8, 2008 at 11:04 AM, 5 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 1 LAFD Rescue Ambulance, 1 Heavy Rescue, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 EMS Battalion Captain and 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 36 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Battalion Chief Charles Butler, responded to an Industrial Machinery Entrapment at 7234 Atoll Avenue in North Hollywood.

Firefighters responded quickly to Circle Paint, a manufacturer of paint and coatings, to find a worker with his arm badly trapped in an industrial mixer.

With an LAFD Urban Search and Rescue Team and Heavy Rescue Unit en route, first-arriving firefighters promptly established Incident Command and scene safety for the rescue.

Physically supporting the conscious and alert 43 year-old man, firefighters made him as comfortable as possible, while machinery was stabilized and confirmed to be unpowered. Soon thereafter, and while medically addressing issues of pain management, firefighters manually unwound the machine to disentangle his arm.

In fair condition with multiple open fractures to his left arm, the man was transported by LAFD ambulance to the trauma center at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

No other injuries were reported.

Questions regarding the presence, need or injured man's use of safety equipment and approved worksite procedures remain within the purview of Cal/OSHA officials.

Comms: NFD; Ch:8,17
Source: LAFD Blog - Link