SHELTON, CT - In the late afternoon of June 18, the Shelton Fire Department was dispatched to 23 Bruce Street for a trench rescue. A construction worker had been working in a trench that was to be dug for a retaining wall around the foundation of the house when the 11-foot deep trench gave way and buried him. His co-workers tried to free him for 20 minutes. Upon arrival, the Shelton Fire Department called mutual aid from Derby and Bridgeport. Derby arrived with Rescue-18, while Bridgeport arrived with Rescue-5, Engine-1, Battalion-1, and Bridgeport’s confined space / trench rescue trailer. The goal at this point was to secure the trench. The workers had been working in the trench with absolutely no shoring to keep the excavated walls from collapsing down upon them. It was also now evident that this operation would be a recovery mission. Members from Shelton, Bridgeport, and Derby worked closely together for hours to remove the victim from the trench. The incident that had started during daylight hours had ended well into darkness.

Photos published in the Connecticut Post (Front Page), Firehouse.com ( http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?id=42869§ionId=45 ), 1st Responder News.com ( http://www.1strespondernews.com/webpages/news/DisplayNews.aspx?PT=state&state=CT&ID=a6e32f38-97a0-4fdf-8dab-2f04eb8ec9cd ), and Fire Photo News ( http://www.firefighting.com/fpn/fpn070105.pdf ).

*** ALL PHOTOS IN THIS GALLERY TAKEN BY BROOKE L. MURATORI ***