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Man survives 25-foot fall into concrete vault, rescued by crane

FOREST GROVE – A construction worker survived a fall of an estimated 25 feet from a ladder Monday afternoon, a fire department spokesman said.

The man, whose identity was not released, was apparently climbing up the ladder, out of a concrete vault being built at the Fernhill Wastewater Treatment Plant, when he fell off, said David Nemeyer, a Forest Grove Fire & Rescue spokesman. The man was transferred by LifeFlight to OHSU.

The man was the site foreman, said Mike McDougall, president of the Natt McDougall Company, which is overseeing the project.

‘It's important to us that these guys get home every night,’ McDougall said. ‘It's not a good day for us right now.’

McDougall said the man had been working on the project since this summer.

Nemeyer said the man was lifted out of the vault with a crane attached to a special stretcher. The man was conscious and talking, Nemeyer said, but had suffered a ‘tremendous amount of injuries’ to his arms, neck, back and legs.

Nemeyer said no one saw the man fall and that another worker found him an estimated five minutes after the accident.

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