Durham firefighters rescue man from top of crane Saturday

Durham firefighters rescued a man who was stuck on top of a crane Saturday morning.

Around 9:35 a.m., the Durham Fire Department responded with 29 personnel to a report of a high-angle rescue on Foster Street.

When firefighters arrived, they said there was an injured man 140 feet above the ground at the end of a tower crane. The man complained of injuries on his left shoulder, side and back.

"It's always the worst scenario that we train for," Captain Marty Pearce, Durham fire department, said. "We just don't know when it's going to happen and today it did."

Construction workers were dismantling the crane when one of them was injured.

"He actually fell. His harness caught him, his restraint tether caught him. his coworkers were able to help him get back onto the crane," Jeff Roberts, Durham fire department division chief, said.

A drone video shows rescuers working on the patient at the very edge of the crane.

"In the moment you're just really focused on doing the job, taking care of the patient," Pearce said.

The fire department responded quickly because Rescue 1 was already on the scene and witnessed the injury as the call for dispatch came in.

Firefighters were able to rescue the man within 20 minutes. They climbed up the crane to get the man.

"Without this crane that was on the ground, our operation would have been much more difficult," Roberts said.

The crane company assisted by hoisting a stokes basket to the man. Firefighters then lowered him to safety.

After the man was lowered to the ground, he was treated by Durham County EMS.

"We have to be prepared for all that because nobody else is coming. We're the ones that are called when people get in trouble," Roberts said.