Fire crews rose to the challenge of high winds over 100ft above ground

Fire crews have rescued a crane operator who fell seriously ill in the cab of a tower crane at a building site in Putney this Wednesday monring. The incident took place on Woodlands Way off the Upper Richmond Road at around 9am.


The view from the crane cab

The crane operator had recently climbed into his cab when he suffered a sudden illness. Fire crews used an aerial ladder platform to raise an officer from the London Ambulance Service into the cab to treat the man and strap him into a basket stretcher.

Fire fighter reaches over to ill operator - images from London Fire Brigade

Station Manager Bruce Grain who took part in the rescue said: "The crane's cab was high up, about a hundred feet off the ground and gusts of wind made the rescue very challenging. The cab was just within reach of the ladder platform at its maximum height, so firefighters were able to reach it without using ropes. There was very little room in the cab, which made treating the man and strapping him into the stretcher difficult, but he was lowered quickly and safely to the ground."

The man was taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service around 10.17am.

April 1, 2015