KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Public Safety's technical rescue team responded to a grain silo in Vicksburg — well outside the department's normal jurisdiction — where a man with a broken leg was stranded more than 100 feet in the air. The technical rescue team went where the job called them to go.
Officer Jake Vyverman was the first on scene from Kalamazoo Public Safety. Multiple other area fire departments responded, including Portage Fire.
"Clearly it doesn't happen all the time," Vyverman said.
In an exclusive Fox 17 interview, Vyverman described the challenge: a man with a broken leg at the top of a grain silo, reachable only by climbing a ladder, with no prefabricated rescue device available.
Take a Look in the Video Player Below
The person rescued was on top of the silo on a man-made platform, when 300 pounds of machinery came down on him, Kalamazoo Public Safety says.
"Okay, we're a hundred feet up in the air. The only way to get up here was by climbing a ladder. The person who's up here has a broken leg. How are we going to be able to get him down?" Vyverman said.
The team used a Stokes basket — a type of stretcher — along with rope techniques and a ladder to bring the man down.
With no prefabricated device to rely on, the team drew on extensive training for these types of rescues to build the system right there, more than 100 feet in the air.
I asked if the equipment was assembled at the top of the silo.
"Yeah, we made it up there," Vyverman said.
That included a harness and other safety equipment to complete the job safely.
For Kalamazoo Public Safety, this was just another day's work.
"Yeah, sure…it's exciting. To see yeah, it paid off. But it's a catch-22. Because it's like…you don't want people to be in these situations," Vyverman said.
The person rescued is expected to make a recovery.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
