Man rescued after suffering medical emergency while working on cell tower

La Vergne’s special ops team was called out for a high angle rescue after receiving a 911 call for a man who suffered a medical emergency at the top of a cell phone tower.

The worker was at the top of the cell tower on the 100 block of Stones River Road near the railroad tracks around 10:15 a.m. with two other workers when he suffered a medical emergency. His coworkers triggered 911 and due to the tower’s proximity to fire station 1 crews were on scene almost immediately. Rutherford County special ops and Murfreesboro special ops teams were called to assist with the rescue. The Murfreesboro fire department also sent additional units to assist with other 911 calls during the rescue.

Crews were able to raise a ladder bucket 80 feet in the air. About an hour and a half after the initial call the patient was stable enough to use the pegs of the cell tower to descend to the bucket truck where he was then lowered to the ground and evaluated by medical personnel.

“We regularly participate in training so that when situations happen, especially rare situations like this, our teams are ready to go and are properly trained to be as safe and effective as possible,” says Chief Chris Clark.