A maintenance worker in the US state of Illinois was stranded for hours on a giant gas station sign he was repairing after the lift he was using malfunctioned. The Wilmington Fire Protection District responded to a call from the sign on Lorenzo Road off Interstate 55 at 1:55 p.m. on Tuesday.
Fire officials said the telescopic boom lift used by the worker, AJ Gow, had malfunctioned and that by the time of the call he had been stuck for about 3 hours in the enclosed sign compartment at a height of 130 feet (about 40 meters). Since the sign pole had no ladder or steps, crews could not climb up to the worker without additional equipment.
It was determined that the ladders on Wilmington Fire Department vehicles could reach a maximum height of 100 feet (30 meters), meaning they were about 30 feet short of reaching the worker. As a result, another boom lift was called from the Joliet area, about 20 miles to the north. With the second crane brought to the scene under a state police escort, firefighters finally reached Gow and brought him safely to the ground.
In a social media post, AJ Gow said he was trapped inside the sign for more than 6 hours. "I was hot and thirsty enough to be worried; I felt more nauseous and dizzy," Gow said, adding, "It was only 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide inside and not even high enough to stand up straight." He also noted that the sign was constantly swaying in the wind.
After being rescued, Gow was taken to the hospital for dehydration treatment and thanked all first responders. "Seeing that lift arrive with a police escort was the best moment of my day," he said.
