Texas Fire Department Pulls Off Dramatic Crane Rescue 22 Stories in the Air

Emergency crews in Texas rescued a person from the cab of a high-rise crane on Saturday, the Fort Worth Fire Department said.

In a Facebook post shared later that day, the department said the person was positioned roughly 220 feet above the ground when responders reached the scene.

“The Fort Worth Fire Department Alarm Office received a call for a medical emergency at 11:50am today,” the post said. The department explained that the call came from “the construction site at JPS Health Hospital,” where firefighters discovered the patient was “approximately 220 feet up in the air, inside of a crane cab.”

Firefighters climbed the crane, administered medical assistance and then carefully lowered the person back to the ground, according to the department.

“When technical rescue teams arrived on scene, they gathered gear and began their ascent up the crane’s ladder. They carried with them all of the equipment they would need for the entire rescue on their backs,” the department said.

“Upon arrival at the top of the crane (over 22 stories in the air), they went to work. Immediate emergency medical care was started while technical rescue teams began devising a plan for the patient’s safe descent,” the department continued.

“Once the patient was safely hooked up to the ropes and rigging system, the crews had him lowered and on the ground. This all happened within less than an hour of their making it to him initially,” the post read.

The department shared multiple photos of the heroic rescue effort.

“The crane operator was then transported to the hospital in stable condition,” the department added.