Salt Lake City fire crews rescue man trapped after foundation of Avenues house collapses

Firefighters rescued a construction worker Monday night who was trapped in the collapse of the foundation of a house in Salt Lake City.

The structural collapse was reported shortly before 5 p.m. in the Avenues neighborhood on the 1200 block of East 4th Avenue, according to the Salt Lake City Fire Department.

Construction crews had been digging in an excavated area next to the foundation of the house when part of the foundation broke off, hurling hundreds of pounds of concrete and the earth below at the man.

The man, aged around 30, was buried in rubble above his waist, according to Captain Anthony Burton, a spokesman for the department. He has been taken to a trauma center and is in serious condition.

Immediately after the collapse, other construction workers immediately called 911 and made a “courageous effort” to help the man, Burton said. The fire brigade’s heavy rescue team arrived at the scene and freed him after about 30 minutes with shovels and other hand tools.

Thanking the man’s construction workers for their quick action, Burton said he “cannot emphasize enough the importance of calling 911 early”.

“We have seen construction-like incidents in the past where they do so much to save the person that they could be injured,” Burton said. “Fortunately, that was not the case here.”