Boy Rescued After Falling Into Hole

 
By Firefighter Bill Rehkopf
February 19, 2006
 

A 10 year old area boy was successfully rescued from a hole in the backyard of a home in Eldersburg, Sunday afternoon, February 19.

Sykesville fire and EMS crews were alerted at approximately 2:45 pm for the call in the 6500 block of Macbeth Way in Eldersburg. The first arriving Station 12 units found a boy identified by family members as Benjamin Benson trapped in a hole approximately six feet deep. Family members say the boy and a friend had dug the hole for the burial of a homemade time capsule. Benson says he was jumping over the hole when he slipped and fell into it.

Sykesville Assistant Fire Chief David Barnes established the incident command system while awaiting the arrival of the Carroll County Advanced Technical Rescue (ATR) Team. The team is comprised of volunteers from various county fire departments. The boy reported that his legs were twisted and trapped in the bottom of the hole, making it impossible to simply pull him out. The ATR team established a plan of action which involved stabilizing Benson in the hole, and providing a supply of heated, fresh air to the boy and rescuers. Firefighters then began to dig a hole behind and then under Benson to allow access to his legs.

After about 2 1/2 hours of methodical, painstaking work by rescuers, Benson was finally freed from the hole and taken to a Sykesville EMS unit for evaluation. The boy was then transported to the nearby Carrolltowne Elementary School where he was loaded aboard a Maryland State Police medevac helicopter to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Benson was examined and released a short time later.

On Monday, Benson and his parents stopped by the fire station to thank his rescuers for their assistance. He said he's learned never to jump over an open hole, but lamented he never had the chance to bury the time capsule with his friend.

Special thanks to the members of the Carroll County ATR team and the Winfield Community Volunteer Fire Department for their assistance on the call.
 
Units: Sykesville Squad 12, Engine 123, Paramedic 129, Life Support 12, Duty 12
 
Mutual Aid: Carroll County ATR Team, Winfield Medic 149, MSP Trooper 3 (Medevac)
 
ATR Team members work to secure patient and provide breathing air into the hole
ATR Team members work to secure patient and provide breathing air into the hole
 
Crews lower a long spine board into the hole to help secure the patient for removal from the hole
Crews lower a long spine board into the hole to help secure the patient for removal from the hole
 
ATR team members work to extricate patient from hole
ATR team members work to extricate patient from hole
 
Fire officials monitor the ongoing rescue efforts below
Fire officials monitor the ongoing rescue efforts below
 
An overview of the rescue site. The area of the hole is to the right covered with the red tarp. The long yellow tube supplies fresh, heated breathing air to the rescue site.
An overview of the rescue site. The area of the hole is to the right covered with the red tarp. The long yellow tube supplies fresh, heated breathing air to the rescue site.
 
The hole where the boy was trapped.
The hole where the boy was trapped.
 
The hole in the foreground is where the victim was trapped. The hole to the rear was dug by fire crews to reach the victim from below and free his legs. The victim was then pulled from the original hole.
The hole in the foreground is where the victim was trapped. The hole to the rear was dug by fire crews to reach the victim from below and free his legs. The victim was then pulled from the original hole.