By Jessica Kerman
ANDERSON — A local man was trapped in a 15-foot-deep hole at a southside home on Friday night.
Joseph Parker, 39, was digging to tap into a sewer line at 4403 St. Charles St. when the side wall of the hole fell in, said Larry McCoy, who was working with Parker at the time.
“I jumped in there and put a spade shovel up to keep the wall up,” McCoy said as he watched more than 40 firefighters work for hours to free Parker from the hole.
Parker was flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis at 10:30 p.m.
Dave Cravens, assistant chief for the Anderson Fire Department, said the department received the call at 6:37 p.m. He said Parker was in stable condition when he left. McCoy said Parker flashed a peace sign as he was pushed to the rescue helicopter.
With a vacuum pump, owned by the city sewer department, and several wood boards for support, firefighters cautiously worked their way through chest-high dirt to get Parker out.
Fire departments from Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Chesterfield and Indianapolis responded to the scene.
Parker’s wife, who would not reveal her name, said she just wanted her husband to survive.
“I just want to know he’s OK,” she said.
As Parker was pulled out of the hole, about 50 spectators clapped for the rescue teams.
Brian Smith, owner of the property and friend of Parker, drove Parker’s wife and McCoy to the hospital in Indianapolis.
Parker was working on the property without a permit, according to Michael Widing, building commissioner. Immediately after the helicopter left, crews started filling in the hole, and Widing said he would post a stop-work order.
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What is the Fishers trench team?
All Fishers Fire Department line personnel are trained to the National Fire Protection Association 1670 operational level of trench rescue. This provides all on-duty personnel the ability to identify specific hazards, begin to control the scene and support the rescue task force members during set up and operations.
This gives the department the ability mitigate hazards, construct shoring systems, access and removed victims trapped in complex trenches or excavations.
The town of Fishers began discussing the concept of a technical trench rescue team in 1990.
In 1993, Capt. Todd Taylor presented Chief Phil Kouwe with an informal risk assessment of the fast-growing service area. The assessment contained many pictures of workers operating in un-shored trenches, along with many hazards associated with trench/excavation emergencies.
After additional research, justification and identification of the lengthy responses for the closest technical rescue resources, in 1994 the Fire Department began to purchase (and had donated) basic starter equipment, and contracted for an outside company to come to Fishers to train the first 11 team members in confined space. The first tripod, full-body harness and blower were transferred from the Waste Water Treatment Department to the Fire Department. Training for trench rescue was budgeted for 1995.
In 1999, additional equipment purchases included a second air cart, 600 feet of breathing hose, and three more harnesses. Also obtained was the donation of an electric pump for de-watering operations.
— Source: Town of Fishers Web site
