A narrow 15-foot trench collapsed in a residential area of Cedar Hills in Southwest Portland Monday morning, trapping a utility worker for nearly four hours.
Portland area firefighter and technical rescue teams responded about 11:00 a.m. Monday to 12715 SW Bowmont Street in Cedar Hills to a trench collapse. After 3 1/2 hours, Danny Russu, age 21, who was trapped under 600 pounds of dirt was rescued.
Danny Russu, 21, of Gresham and two other men were working a routine job in a sewer line trench. The trench was about 11 feet deep when it collapsed. Two men escaped but Russu was buried.
“First and foremost, our employee seems to be doing well for which we are extremely grateful. Next, safety takes top priority here at Apollo Drain. As such, we take every safety precaution on our excavation job sites including strict adherence to all OSHA standards. We believe this was an unfortunate freak accident possibly due to the recent overabundance of rain in our area. All indications from emergency personnel are that the quick actions of his fellow workers likely saved his life. Finally, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to all of the emergency workers that worked tirelessly to not only safely extricate him, but to keep him calm in what was surely a frightening situation.”
— Apollo Drain & Rooter Services Inc
Ryan Bird and another coworker from Apollo Drain & Rooter Services Inc rushed to claw away dirt with their bare hands until they managed to uncover Russu’s face so he could breathe. The co-workers also braced themselves against the side of the trench to keep it open and prevent further collapse.
The rescue team worked on Advanced Life Support patient care with intravenous fluids, heat, and oxygen as they worked on extricating the victim from the trench. The rescue team consisted of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Portland Fire Department, Metro West, Clean Water Services, and a physician.
Russu extricated out of the ground just after 2:30 p.m., and was taken by ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Hospital where he was listed in serious condition Monday night in ICU.
Crews working to extricate patient from collapsed utility trench in Beaverton. @PDXFire assisting with tech rescue. pic.twitter.com/3lJmB2I4q2
— TVF&R (@TVFR) March 3, 2014
Physician on scene consulting with @TVFR & @PDXFire Firefighter Paramedics on patient care plan in trench collapse. pic.twitter.com/c9RStBn6pz
— Mike Duyck (@TVFRChief) March 3, 2014
Crews continue to work carefully and methodically to remove the pt. Adv medical care ongoing incl heat & O2 pic.twitter.com/trGStE9uFX
— TVF&R (@TVFR) March 3, 2014
Crews making progress to rescue pt. Angle of pt is adding some complexity. Pt is still alert and talking to crews. pic.twitter.com/FNWMq2phtk
— TVF&R (@TVFR) March 3, 2014
Tripod moving into place for pt removal pic.twitter.com/bSk9H79Jlv
— TVF&R (@TVFR) March 3, 2014
Great job to the @TVFR & @PDXFire rescuers on a successful and safe rescue. pic.twitter.com/109g9Lqqhd
— Mike Duyck (@TVFRChief) March 3, 2014
The patient is safety extricated from the trench by technical rescue team members. pic.twitter.com/EjCCB4ft4x
— TVF&R (@TVFR) March 4, 2014
