RESCUE REPORT: Seattle Firefighters Rescue Industrial Worker Engulfed in Dry Powder Cement

By Tom Vines
Photos Courtesy Seattle Fire Department

A Dec. 12 operation proved to be complex and challenging for Seattle firefighters who had never seen an entrapment quite like this one.

The initial 911 call came in at 1126 HRS. The report was for “a backhoe driver trapped under fresh cement” at a cement plant in an industrial area of Seattle. The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) dispatched a “Heavy Rescue Major,” indicating a particularly manpower-intensive or complex rescue operation.

The response at 1127 HRS included the department’s Technical Rescue Group, consisting of Ladder 7, Aid 14, Rescue 1 and Battalion 5. Also responding: five engines, two ladder trucks, two battalion chiefs, one aid car, two SFD medic units, one air unit, one deputy chief, one staffing officer, one safety chief and one medical supervising officer. A total of 52 Seattle firefighters responded to the incident. A Seattle Public Utilities Vactor truck, a large vacuum truck normally used to clean storm drains, was also dispatched.

Once first-arriving personnel reached the plant at 1133 HRS, they began to get a better idea of what had actually happened. The industrial facility included a dome-shaped storage unit, approximately 150 feet tall and 75 feet wide, which housed dry powder concrete. The victim was initially reported to be trapped in “fresh cement,” which presents a much different scenario then the “dry powder” he was eventually found trapped in.

The problem began when impellers used to transfer the product jammed. A worker in a backhoe-type unit attempted to move some of the product to access the machinery when a large wall of the product collapsed on him. The powder quickly engulfed him, trapping him in the vehicle cab. The powder then poured out the entrance to the storage unit and into a parking lot, partially burying several vehicles. The area outside the storage unit that was covered by dry powder measured approximately 200 by 200 feet wide—and it was 4 feet deep.

Other complicating factors included driving rain and a stopped train that caused a 5-minute delay for many rescuers.

Rescuers made contact with the worker and discovered that he was still in cab and buried up to shoulders. He was surrounded by broken glass that created a void space, and he was conscious, alert and oriented. The rescuers were initially uncertain if he was the only victim; they were concerned that other people may have been in the parked vehicles outside the storage unit that were engulfed up to the windows by the dry powder cement. However, a spotter was soon able to confirm that the vehicles were unoccupied.

Because of the danger of suffocation from the cement dust, an initial priority was getting rescue air to the victim. Rescuers quickly placed an SCBA on the 29-year-old man.

Additionally, a hot zone was created to reduce hazards to rescuers. The victim was located about 15 feet into the hot zone. The product was so light that anyone trying to walk on it would sink, creating additional clouds of dust. Rescuers laid ground ladders atop the material. They then took plywood sheets from the rescue unit, ripped them into approximately 2.5-feet-wide sections and lay them across the ladders to create a pathway into hot zone that would not further unsettle the product.

Further complicating the situation: For a while, the cement continued to fall in as fast as it could be removed. Rescuers asked other plant workers how much more of the product was still in the dome, but they could not provide an answer. To stop the outflow of powder, firefighters created a sort of cofferdam-type enclosure using backboards and plywood. Finally, the powder stopped flowing from the silo and the larger chunks of powder were able to be removed with the Vactor unit.

Command based crew rotation on SCBA bottle capacity: As bottles depleted, crews were rotated out. However, the simple act of moving crews in and out of the area created additional hazards from the dust. So Command decided to keep the shifts working as long as feasible while using the same personnel for patient care and removing material away from him.

Crews removed the material from around the victim as much as possible. But once crews reached the area around the victim’s lower legs, they could not reach into the lower part of the cab. So they handed the end of the Vactor hose to the victim, who was able to remove the remaining material from around the lower part of his body.

Once the victim was free from the powder, crews lifted him out of the cab and placed him on a backboard. Because this was all happening in such a confined work area, the crews decided to transfer him on the backboard instead of packaging him in a litter. They had initially planned to use a ladder truck for evacuation, but instead opted to create a human conveyor belt, passing the backboard out of the space from person to person.

A SFD medic unit transported the victim to Harborview Medical Center at 1315 HRS and the last unit cleared the scene at 1410 HRS.

Sources: Battalion Chief Jon Gillis (Battalion 5), Firefighter Jay Robinson (Ladder 7's Acting Lieutenant on the shift), and Ladder 7 firefighters Tim Clark, David Heiser and Annie Myers provided information for this report. Some additional details were taken from an account of the incident by the Seattle Times.

LESSONS LEARNED/LESSONS REINFORCED:
Although the department may not have been able to anticipate this exact event and, therefore, prepare for it, the incident did provide some valuable lessons for future entrapment incidents.

Both the victim and some of the responders were using SCBAs to avoid inhaling the toxic material, but having to change bottles added complications. In-line positive pressure breather apparatus, such as those used in confined-space response, could have streamlined the operations.

The lime content of the product can be a respiratory hazard if inhaled and can cause rash or second-degree skin burns, particularly in combination with perspiration. It was also damaging to equipment. Boots were ruined, and SCBA facepieces had to be replaced because the material got into the diaphragm.

PPE for similar operations in the future should include coveralls, Tyvek suits, Nomex hoods and turnout boots, along with duct tape to close seams. This protective gear would be easier to work in than turnouts, especially because such significant manual labor was involved.

The 100' Vactor hose proved unwieldy at times. The Vactor controls were located at the truck, and this occasionally led to coordination problems. Specifically, because of the high noise level, radio communication between the front of the hose and the control unit was difficult. There were times, for example, when the Vactor started sucking clothes. It would be ideal to have a way to remotely control the Vactor hose so the controller could be positioned closer to the scene.

Additionally, with only a 2.5-foot-wide walkway to and from the hot zone, there were some congestion issues during shift changes.

Decontamination of the patient and rescuers was conducted by the common method of flushing with water; however, a positive pressure air hose might have been more efficient.

Firefighter Jay Robinson, Ladder 7’s acting lieutenant on the shift, comments, “How do you train for this type of event? Unless you can train for the worst-case scenario of worst-case scenarios, I don’t think you can be truly prepared. So what you’re left with is your training and the hard work and dedication of those around you. This was like being involved in a trench or confined-space problem—only the trench walls were like water not dirt. I’m sure that pre-planning for this specific event could have enabled us to be more efficient. But in the grand scheme of things, it would not have made a difference in the outcome.”

Robinson continues: “For me, as technical of a rescue as this was, it reinforced the basics.

1. Air: the patient needed fresh air and we needed an air supply to affect the rescue in a timely manner.
2. Hazard mitigation: We made sure that we were going to be able to either negate or account for any hazards (engulfment/mechanical, electrical or atmospheric).
3. Rescue: This guy was going to die without our help. So, aggressive, tenacious work was needed to save his life. These are the qualities that embody our firefighters.”

Battalion Chief Nakamichi (Battalion 2) told the firefighters after the incident, “You all deserve accolades for your drive, perseverance and professionalism in your assigned duties.”

Rescue Editor Tom Vines is the co-author of “High Angle Rescue Techniques” and “Confined Space and Structural Rope Rescue.” He operates a rope-rescue consulting group in Red Lodge, Mont.