WINTER GARDEN, Fla – A worker was taken to the hospital as a trauma alert after falling about 14 feet inside an elevated hopper at a Winter Garden work site, according to the Winter Garden Fire Department.
A hopper is a large, funnel-shaped industrial container used to store and discharge materials such as grain, sand or concrete. They are commonly found at construction sites and industrial facilities.
Fire crews responded to the scene and found the worker inside the hopper after he fell from a ladder. Officials said he suffered a leg injury.
The incident commander requested help from Orange County Fire Rescue Department’s technical rescue team because of the height and complexity of the rescue.
Crews from both agencies worked together to secure the worker, remove him from the hopper and lower him more than 40 feet to the ground. The rescue took about 45 minutes, officials said.
The worker was designated as a trauma alert patient and transferred to the hospital. Further updates on his condition were not immediately available.