Iowa City Fire Department Performs Thursday Morning Rescue

Press release from the City of Iowa City:

March 25, 2021

At 10:43 a.m. on Thursday, March 25, the Iowa City Fire Department (ICFD) responded to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) for a report of a person who had fallen down a maintenance hatch and into the tunnel system below.

ICFD units arrived on scene four minutes later and located the patient 30 feet below ground. The UIHC staff member had fallen approximately 20 feet from a ladder accessing the maintenance tunnels.

A Johnson County Ambulance paramedic and ICFD rescuers treated and secured the patient in the tunnel, while an ICFD rescue team established an overhead system to remove the patient from below-ground. The patient was safely removed 43 minutes after ICFD’s arrival.

The rescue operation was performed in conjunction with Johnson County Ambulance Service, and was supported by UIHC staff, the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communications Center, and the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety.

This press release was produced by the City of Iowa City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.