Somerville fire rescue team pulls man from paper-filled silo

By Zachary T. Sampson

April 6, 2012

1 minute to read

A Somerville Fire Department rescue team saved a man who fell into a silo and was buried under paper Thursday night, a fire official said.

Deputy Fire Chief Robert Lyons said firefighters responded to 48 3rd Ave. shortly after 9 p.m., where an employee was stuck inside a silo at a local business that deals with paper. He did not know the name or specific operations of the business.

The employee was transported to a local hospital after he was rescued, the deputy fire chief said. He had no word late Thursday night on the extent of the man’s injuries and did not know which hospital he was taken to.

Paper from the business is processed in a vent system that dumps shredded material through the silo into a dumpster or compactor below, Lyons said. He said the man was trying to clear a jam when he fell into the silo, which contained shredded paper.

“He was buried under paper,’’ Lyons said, but firefighters were able to speak with the trapped employee through a co-worker’s cellphone to monitor his location and condition.

When firefighters tried to get to the man from the bottom of the silo, he told them through the phone that their efforts were only worsening conditions, Lyons said. He said that as minutes passed, the trapped man reported he was having more difficulty breathing.

“He thought he was running out of air,’’ Lyons said.

It took rescuers approximately 45 minutes after they arrived to reach the man, according to Lyons. He said crews cut two access holes in the silo before they were able to get to the employee. The cutting tools created sparks, Lyons said, creating concerns that the paper-filled silo might go up in flames.

Lyons said the rescue process was difficult for the Somerville firefighters, who normally do not work with silos.

“Probably, you know, the last five or ten minutes there, we were getting a little bit concerned, and then we got the word that we had him,’’ Lyons said.