BY DARYL NEWPORT AND STEVE VINEYARD
ON MARCH 19, 2024, in Hohenwald, Tennessee, at 1100 hours, a 53-year-old man was mining at a large chert pit. Chert is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock, which, in our area, is a reddish-brown color. It is most often used as a compacted base for driveways and foundations. Once compacted if disturbed, it becomes very granular. While using a backhoe, the operator was working on the hill’s face attempting to pull the chert off a 30- to 40-foot-high section. Without warning, a large area of the face broke loose, crashing down on the machine and burying the operator for about 12 hours.
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After an extensive search, the victim’s family found him and called 911. Once the information was processed, the Hohenwald and Lewis County Volunteer Fire Departments were paged out to 400 Kegs Springs Road. The initial dispatch information given stated: “A man trapped by a landslide.” Due to the nature of the call, Hohenwald Chief 400 advised dispatch to contact the Maury County Fire Department for additional staffing and assistance. In addition, the Spring Hill Fire Department was also notified to respond with trench rescue equipment. was requested After size-up from Hohenwald and Maury County, the incident commander (IC) requested heavy earth-moving equipment. In addition to the fire response, emergency medical service from Maury Regional EMS responded with two medic units and a supervisor. Lewis County sheriff and Vanderbilt Life Flight were also notified.
The first chief to arrive established command and assigned operations and staging officers. Lewis County Engine 3 and Rescue 1 then arrived on scene with 14 additional volunteers arriving in their personally owned vehicles. The first firefighters to initiate contact with the family found them on the top of the chert material digging over a small opening about threeto four inches in diameter. Looking down at the small opening, you could see the victim’s hand protruding through the material. The victim informed the firefighters that he was buried in material up to his head and that he could only slightly move one hand. The void area around him was small and the material was unstable and compact (photo 1).
1. Heavy earth-moving equipment was requested immediately. (Photos courtesy of authors.)
Initial Actions
Lewis County firefighters’ initial actions were to remove the family from the incident site for fear that any additional movement in the wrong area could cause the void area to fill with material. In addition, removing them from the site enabled firefighters to work without family members hovering over them and exhibiting signs of panic, which could jeopardize the trapped victim’s mental or physical condition.
Part of the initial course of action was to lower an oxygen mask into the opening to the victim. Luckily, he had enough dexterity and range of motion that he was able to hold it up against his face by bending his hand and arm. Once the family was pulled back, we obtained more information about the victim and machinery. The family stated that the victim was operating on a backhoe. Unfortunately, the only part showing from that piece of equipment was the rear knuckle on the backhoe bucket. It was estimated he was trapped between five to six feet under the material. The backhoe had a heavy metal roof and roll-cage construction with a windshield that provided a lot of protection, but it had no side or rear door and panel protection, which allowed a great deal of chert to compress into the area (photos 2 & 3).
2. The victim trapped between approximately five to six feet under the material.
3. A rescuer from Lewis County Fire Department lowering oxygen to the patient.
Next Steps and Navigating Concerns
Realizing the victim’s severe medical condition, the IC called for Vanderbilt Life Flight to respond. Lewis County Engine 3 was detailed to secure a landing zone a short distance from the scene. Rescuers feared a secondary collapse of the face of the hill and had to contend with rough terrain, which made it difficult to operate, especially in the dark. As a result, units began setting up portable lighting equipment to illuminate the scene so controlled digging could be started over the backhoe. To control the scene and prevent unwanted movement of the materials, only three firefighters operated at a time, and they rotated periodically to prevent fatigue. A short piece of PVC pipe was found and placed into the void hole to help maintain its integrityand prevent collapse of the only opening to the victim. The IC gave five-minute benchmarks. We were 30 minutes into the rescue when we reached the top of the backhoe roof about four feet down. During the entire rescue, verbal contact with the victim was continuous.
Additional mutual-aid units began to arrive, and their firefighters were put into the digging rotation and provided additional equipment to help (pointed shovels, 5-gallon buckets, and portable LED lights). On the arrival of the Maury County units, their chief was assigned as the incident safety officer.
Shortly thereafter, a skid loader arrived on scene and, after a consult with the safety officer and incident command, an operational plan was developed. The machine was quickly assigned the task of cutting two paths, one on each side of the incident scene, to help with access to the backhoe. These two paths would provide access to the scene for other heavy equipment when it arrived (mini excavator and backhoe).
The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director from Maury County arrived and assisted by monitoring the void area for carbon monoxide and oxygen levels. We were concerned about the buildup of carbon monoxide because it could have been saturated in the void areas and potentially harmful to the victim.
In addition to these concerns, a firefighter/ paramedic expressed concern about compartment syndrome, a dangerous condition caused by lack of blood circulation of compressed tissue over the several hours that the subject had been compacted in the soil. The medical director was granted permission to start an IV as soon as possible and administer calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate as a precaution against acidosis, which can cause a fatal heart arrythmia once circulation is restored (photos 4 & 5).
4. Mutual-aid units and their firefighters were put into the digging rotation and provided additional equipment to help (pointed shovels, 5-gaUon buckets, and portable LED lights).
5. The seat where the patient was sitting after he was removed.
Once the heavy equipment arrived on scene, the operators were informed of the extrication plan, and they started moving the material from both sides of the backhoe. Both the backhoe and mini excavator worked on opposing sides of the covered backhoe in unison without any problems. Large, bowl-shaped holes were dug back from the backhoe. Once these were dug, firefighters once again began digging with shovels and the material was pulled away from the sides of the backhoe. Once the victim was partially uncovered, the medical team started an IV administering the prescribed medications. Due to the victim losing his body temperature, thermal insulated blankets and hand warmers were used during the rest of the extrication.
After examining the roof and columns of the backhoe’s roll cage, we determined that hydraulic extrication tools on the scene would be ineffective in cutting the heavy gauged metal tubing and plate. A quick try to cut with hydraulic cutters confirmed that another method had to be used to remove the roof. Therefore, we decided to use a gas-powered rotary saw with metal cutting blades to cut three of the four columns.
Rescuers attempted to cut the fourth column, nearest the victim, with a reciprocating saw so there were less sparks and more control of the cut, but that proved ineffective because the blade was being pinched by the material and position of the cage. The rotary saw finished the final cut on the heavy roll-cage. We had two fire extinguishers on standby. We used the foam extinguisher to spray the saw blade during use to assist in lubrication. Two additional cuts had to be made on the lighter weight window framing, and these were cut with the hydraulic cutter. Prior to the cuts being made, chains were wrapped around the roof and secured to a backhoe bucket so it could be removed safely.
Once the roof was removed and the material moved away from the victim, we made two final cuts with the hydraulic cutter to remove the bent steering wheel and brake lever. Once these operations were completed, we removed the victim from the vehicle via backboard and Stokes basket and flew him to the Vanderbilt Medical Hospital in Nashville. Our total on scene time was three and a half hours. This man had been buried for 15 hours. Waiting for the arrival of heavy equipment was like time standing still for me. I can’t even imagine what it was like for him. You want things to go faster, but there is always a reason when they don’t (photos 6 & 7).
6 The victim being carried to a waiting flight helicopter.
7 Rescuers using heavy equipment in the final steps of removing the victim from the vehicle underground to bring him to safety.
This emergency was a unique and challenging technical rescue. Hopefully, it only happens once in a career. We were successful in completing the rescue due to the efforts of all on the scene, but the facts are that we can always learn, critique, and improve our abilities and make things better for future emergencies.
DARYL NEWPORT is a 47-year veteran of the fire service and the training officer of the Hohenwald/Lewis (TN) Fire Department. He is a retired district chief of special operations of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, where he served 29 years, and retired from the Tennessee Fire Academy after seven years instructing technical rescue and fire officer classes.
STEVE VINEYARD is a 45-year veteran of the fire service and the chief of the Hohenwald/Lewis Fire Department.
