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MU employee rescued from well after being trapped by medical condition

Emerald O'Brien
/
KBIA
Members of the Columbia Fire Department clean up after using a pulley system to remove a University employee from a well at the MU power plant on January 22, 2015.

The Columbia Fire Department rescued a man trapped in a well at the University of Missouri power plant on Thursday. The fire department was dispatched around 2 p.m. to extract a University Campus Facilities employee who experienced a medical issue while performing regular maintenance on the well.

The well is about 20 feet underground and is one of five drinking water wells on the MU campus.

MU News Bureau Associate Director Christian Basi said the employee’s medical condition required calling and utilizing the fire department, but it wasn't so severe that there wasn't enough time to wait for the crew to arrive.

“There was a medical condition that was going to hamper his ability to get out safely,” Basi said. “That’s why we felt we had another way to get him out safely, there was no reason to risk anything, and that’s why we called the fire department.”

Battalion Chief Brad Frazier said the operation took about 30 minutes.  He said firefighters used a pulley system with a cot to get the employee out.

“Our fire crews established some rigging, some roping, and we were able to go down into that area, package the patient and bring him up safely,” Fraizer said.

The employee was taken to University Hospital around 2:30 p.m. for further examination.

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