Construction worker rescued from 18th floor after accident at high-rise building in West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 65-year-old worker was rescued Thursday after a deck partially collapsed at the site of a high-rise building under construction in West Palm Beach, police said.

The high-rise rescue took place on the 18th floor of the building located on the 300 block of Australian Avenue along Clearwater Drive.

The worker sustained moderate injuries after the deck collapse, according to West Palm Beach spokeswoman said Diane G. Papadakos.

Firefighters took a construction elevator to the 14th floor and then climbed to the 18th-floor roof deck.

"We had this elevator that got us to the 14th floor," Capt. Vasilios "Niko" Nikolakopoulos with West Palm Beach Fire Rescue said. "After that, we took four flights of stairs up with the rest of our crew. We had all our gear together."

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Once up top, Nikolakopoulos said there were safety issues.

"There was a lot of debris, there was a lot of construction, wet cement, railings that were unstable," he said.

Papadakos said crews provided medical treatment for the patient's injuries and then loaded him into a basket, where he was secured with ropes and harnesses. The basket was then attached to a large crane's hooks.

Stabilizing bags were dropped by a firefighter riding with the injured man to make sure the basket didn't sway because of the wind.

The crane operator and safety officer from the construction team coordinated with rescuers in lowering the patient to the ground using the crane.

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A firefighter called an "attendant" was also fastened to the basket and lowered down alongside the patient. Once safely on the ground, the patient was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center for further treatment.

"This is one of the calls they train the most intensely for because it is one of the calls with the highest risk," said West Palm Beach Fire Chief Diana Matty.

Nikolakopoulos said there was a sense of relief once they were on the ground.

"The fact that we were able to get him stabilized, get him over the edge safely and on his way to the hospital, so he can get the definitive care that he needs, is more than relief we need," he said.

Clearwater Drive, which runs parallel to Australian Avenue, was closed in all directions during the rescue. The road reopened to traffic at 1 p.m., and police cleared the scene.

"The firefighters who performed this rescue are highly trained Technical Rescue Technicians who practice regularly for these high-risk, low-frequency events," Papadakos said in a statement. "Most firefighters only get to participate in a few of these emergencies in an entire 30-year career. This crew did an excellent job today and performed at expert level."

Fire rescue officials said the injured man's family arrived at the scene as he was lowered to the ground.