Hutchinson crews shore trench walls before lifting patient from 9-foot fall on South Mohawk

Hutchinson firefighters had to shore a trench with panels before they could safely reach a person who had fallen about 9 feet into it beside a basement wall Thursday, Aug. 20.

According to a release from Hutchinson Fire Department Battalion Chief Chad Allen, the department was called at 11:24 a.m. to the 3100 block of S. Mohawk for a fall, and dispatchers updated the call to a fall into a trench. The first arriving unit found the patient lying in the trench, placed a ladder in to gain access and began an assessment.

The release said the area where the patient lay was not safe for emergency personnel to work in until the rescue team arrived and shored the sides with trench panels. Personnel stayed in voice and visual contact with the patient during that wait.

According to the release, once the panels were in place and the space was safe, crews entered, treated injuries from the fall, secured the patient and used ropes to lift the individual out. The patient was transferred to Reno County EMS for transport.

Unshored trench walls can collapse on rescuers as well as on the person already in the hole, which is why the department maintains a trained and equipped technical rescue team. Trench emergencies are infrequent in Hutchinson but a known local hazard; prior local news coverage documented a more complex trench rescue in the city in 2021.

The department credited Reno County EMS, Reno County Emergency Communications, the Reno County Sheriff's Department and the Hutchinson Department of Public Works with assisting at the scene. The release does not give the patient's name, age or condition, or say what the trench was for.

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