SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local first responder is sharing insight into what it takes to carry out underground rescues.
His comments come just days after crews near Pittsburgh recovered the body of a woman who fell through a sinkhole.
28/22 News Reporter Gianna Galli sat down with the local first responder who assisted in a very similar high-risk underground mission.
Scranton Technical Team Member Robert Zoltewicz can relate to what Pittsburgh-area search crews recently went through.
"It's rare to have a successful victim rescue a lot of times it's a body recovery mission," Zoltewicz said.
Unfortunately, that was the case for 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard who fell through a sinkhole and whose body was recovered days later.
Zoltewicz assisted in something similar nearly two years ago.
He was one of five members of the Scranton Technical Rescue Team sent to Allentown.
An excavation failure left a utility worker entrapped after a trench collapse.
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It took eight exhausting hours before crews brought the man buried in dirt to safety.
"We all know those of us involved in the tech rescue world you know that it's going to be very equipment and manpower intensive," Zoltewicz explained.
Zoltewicz talked Galli through the type of training, preparation, and gear that goes into rescue with such high risk.
"It's a young person's job and everyone has their niche and role in the operation," Zoltewicz continued.
That includes a mix of firefighters, paramedics, and tech rescue team members.
It takes hundreds of training hours to learn how to work in tight spaces, including excavation and structural collapses.
"There's a lot of work that goes into it but we are very proud to maintain that capability in the area for anyone who should need that," Zoltewicz added.
He compared the feeling of being stuck underground to being stuck in the sand at the beach.
"Or the force of the earth has taken out your knees and essentially you have broken bones and what you believe to be the leg straight in the earth is offset," said Zoltewicz.
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When it comes to trench collapses, crews must first install aluminum shoring, and then check air quality.
They also pump heat-ventilated air into the trench to help keep the victim alive. Then they perform a rope operation to pull the person out.
"There's a great deal of say reconnaissance that's required early on for an incident like that and the mission is so right in front of you you are just hoping for a successful outcome," Zoltewicz stated.
What they're up against the most: time.
"It's probably one of the most challenging tasks. A lot of variables at play," Zoltewicz stated.
Zoltewicz says there are ways to tell if something abnormal is going on underground and if a sinkhole could open up.
He says to be on the lookout for stress cracks and fissures and to stay away from those areas.
