MAURY COUNTY, Tennessee — A worker who suffered serious injuries after falling about 20 feet into a septic tank opening at Santa Fe Unit School was pulled to the surface in a technical rescue that combined confined-space safety, rope work, hazardous-materials precautions and emergency medical care.

WKRN News 2 reported Thursday that the man had been released from the hospital. The station's follow-up, based on the Maury County Fire Department's account and interviews with two division chiefs, adds new detail about how responders managed the July 23 rescue.

Watch the Maury County rescue report

Video source: WKRN News 2, featuring Maury County Fire Department rescue images and interviews with Special Operations Division Chief Luke Greenwell and Safety Officer Division Chief Chuck Estes. If the embedded player does not load, watch the report on WKRN's article page.

A fall into a confined space

The incident was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m. July 23 in the 2600 block of Santa Fe Pike. According to the account published by WKRN, the subcontractor was helping install an underground tank for the school's septic system when he fell backward from a ladder and struck the concrete walls and floor below.

Responders found the injured man wedged between the ladder and a wall in the compact space. ThinBlueNews is not identifying him because the public sources reviewed for this report did not name him.

Air monitoring, ropes and a ladder truck

Greenwell told WKRN that responders first had to monitor and ventilate the air so the confined space would not expose the injured man or rescue personnel to a toxic environment.

The ground surrounding the opening included mud and an excavated ditch, making it harder to position large equipment. Estes explained that the operation required more than placing a ladder into the opening: crews had to protect personnel working below while setting up the equipment needed to bring the injured worker out safely.

The department's special-operations team used a hook-and-ladder truck that can be steered from the front and rear, helping it reach the tight work area. Its 100-foot ladder could remain on safer ground while extending above the opening. Rope-rescue personnel then used the elevated ladder system to lower a Stokes basket to the responders caring for the man below.

WKRN reported that crews brought the man to the surface after about 30 minutes. He was placed aboard a waiting medical helicopter and flown to a hospital.

Training paid off in a complex operation

The rescue drew on several disciplines at once: aerial operations, rope rescue, hazardous-materials knowledge and medical care. Greenwell said the 150-member combination department holds paid and volunteer firefighters to the same training standard.

Only 15 department members worked this incident, according to the local report. Greenwell said he planned to recreate the scenario as a future training exercise so more members could practice the same skills.

The follow-up offers a close look at the preparation behind a successful rescue: protecting air quality, caring for a seriously injured person in a confined space, stabilizing the rescue system and positioning specialized equipment on difficult terrain before the lift could begin.

Readers can find more source-backed lifesaving work in ThinBlueNews' first responder news, police rescue news and latest news.

Sources, video and image attribution

Featured-image note: This is an authentic Maury County Fire Department rescue photograph credited and published by WKRN, not a recreation or unrelated representative image. ThinBlueNews made a narrow crop and resize for its 1200 × 630 social-image format; it did not synthesize or alter the incident scene.

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