On Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 2:51 PM, 8 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 5 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Heavy Rescue, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Rehab Unit, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 65 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Assistant Chief David Yamahata, responded to a Trench Collapse with Civilian Fatality at 3931 Oeste Avenue in Studio City.

Firefighters arrived quickly to find an unconscious and non-breathing adult male worker buried to his neck deep within an excavation for a sewer line at a hillside residential construction site.

According to witnesses, the 33 year-old man - a ten year employee of a private construction firm, was last seen working in or near the 8 foot deep by 2 foot wide trench when the worksite foreman departed for an errand.

The collapse was not witnessed by other construction personnel working remotely on the property, and only noted by the foreman upon his return to the site after an unspecified period of time.

With an LAFD Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team and LAFD Heavy Rescue Unit proactively assigned to the initial response, Firefighter/Dispatchers also summoned a trio of large vacuum trucks from the City's Department of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation to assist with efficient soil removal, of what commenced wholeheartedly as a rescue operation.

With safety, speed and well-practiced efficiency, LAFD trench rescue equipment and personnel were relayed to the site, as both medical oxygen and breathing air lines were swiftly made ready. As the soil was promptly shored to protect both the patient and responders, USAR certified LAFD Paramedics were soon face-to-face with the trapped worker, to sadly determine with great certainty that he was beyond medical help.

Declaring the man deceased at 3:10 PM, rescuers - still together as a team, began the dolorous transition to recovery of the man's remains. With the enhanced shoring of trench walls and key safety procedures in place, firefighters commenced a precise rotation of personnel for the labor-intensive effort of exhuming the man's body.

More than three hours after they were first summoned, Los Angeles Fire Department responders removed the man from the trench in a dignified and respectful manner, placing his remains in custody of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

No other injuries were reported.

A positive identification of the dead man, as well as the precise cause, time and manner of his death will be determined by the Coroner's Office.

Representatives from the City of Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety joined Cal/OSHA Investigators at the scene.

Questions regarding the presence, need or deceased man's use of safety equipment and approved worksite procedures remains within the purview of Cal/OSHA, which is investigating the workplace fatality.

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Trench Collapse Claims Life of Construction Worker in Studio City

On Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 10:58 AM, 10 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 7 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 3 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Rehab Unit, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 2 Division Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Dozer Team, 1 Utility Resource under the direction of Assistant Chief T. Manning responded to a TRENCH RESCUE at 602 N. Palisades Dr. in Pacific Palisades.

Firefighters responded to a three story below grade single family dwelling, where reports of a person buried under an unknown amount of dirt was trapped. As crews quickly assessed the scene, they discovered that an individual who later was described as a 24 year old male, had been working in an 8x8 11 ft trench. The worker who apparently was attempting to water proof the area, was the victim of an unexpected cave in, just prior to the 911 call.

All personnel worked diligently and swiftly to try and dig out the man, but the un-shored, large amounts of dirt and the depth hole proved to be extremely challenging. With an already heavy amount of resources and equipment on scene, a request was made to call in three LAFD USAR Teams in an effort to expedite the rescue operation. A crew had to breach a nearby retaining wall to try and gain access to the victim. Despite the prompt efforts of the Los Angeles Firefighters and Paramedics, the injured male succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

It took 86 fire personnel and rescuers a little over five hours to completely recover the body of the worker. CAL –OSHA will continue an investigation as to what caused the incident, but the exact time and manner of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.



Submitted by Devin Gales, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Worker Dies After Being Trapped Under Dirt

On Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 6:40 PM, 10 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 6 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Heavy Rescue, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Rehab Unit, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, Emergency Lighting, DOT, Street Maintenance and a Cal OSHA Inspector, under the direction of Assistant Chief Greg West, responded to a TRENCH RESCUE at 15839 W. Larkspur St. in the Sylmar area.

Firefighters responded to a reported trench collapse and rescue. Firefighters arrived on scene and found a 40 foot long trench, 4 foot wide by 8 foot deep, with 2 workers trapped. One worker was trapped with debris and dirt to his thighs, while the second worker was trapped almost to the chest. An additional USAR company was added to the assignment. One major concern of the IC, was a 12 foot long section of concrete curbing needing stabilization, to not cause additional injury to the patient.

18 minutes into the incident, one worker self extricated with the aid of a shovel provided by Task Force 98 in coordination with the stabilization of the trench walls. The male worker, approximately 63, was assessed with no complaint of injury and transported to an area hospital. With the use of hand tools and a vacuum truck, the debris was removed slowly by the USAR Firefighters. Two hours, 15 minutes into the incident, the second worker was finally extricated from the trench. He was assessed, treated and prepped for transport to an area hospital.


It took 81 Firefighters and Specialty companies 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete the incident. The workers were working on the sewer line at the curbline, in front of the single family dwelling.

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Submitted by d'Lisa Davies
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Workers Extricated From Collapsed Trench in Sylmar