A 20-year-old man was trapped in his vehicle for two hours after a parking structure partially collapsed in Dearborn on Friday, Jan. 7.
The man was sitting in his car on the first floor of the parking structure on Outer Drive and East Garrison Place when part of the structure collapsed. He called 911 around 8:45 p.m., said Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray.
Within two hours, Dearborn and Western Wayne County mutual aid team firefighters were able to remove the victim from the car through the driver’s side window, Murray said.
The man didn’t appear to have significant injuries and was able to walk a few steps to a stretcher, Murray said. He was transported to the hospital as a precaution.
Dearborn firefighters expected the man to be trapped for many hours due to the severity of the structure collapse, Murray said. Firefighters placed portable propane heaters on the scene to keep the man from getting hypothermia in the frigid temperatures.
“They were actually able to get him out within two hours, which is pretty unbelievable if you had seen it when I first walked up there,” Murray said. “They did a great job and are very highly trained, very professional.”
The Dearborn Fire Department called in its specialized response team and the Western Wayne County mutual aid urban search and rescue team for help.
To get access to the vehicle, firefighters shored the scene, making a temporary support system for the structure and, in some cases, moving chunks of concrete. They used tools like hydraulic jacks and lifts as well as stabilizing devices, Murray said.
“The big thing with collapses is you don’t want more collapse. You have also all these loose pieces of material that are very, very heavy — hundreds, thousands of pounds — and you don’t want them shifting or rolling,” Murray said.
No one besides the rescued man was in the garage at the time of the collapse, Murray said. Cars are still inside but not able to leave the garage, which has been deemed unsafe to enter. Dearborn building officials are investigating the scene.
Murray urged people to stay away from the area because it is not safe. The next steps for people with a car inside the garage are unknown at this time, as the structure safety is being assessed and vehicles can’t drive out because a floor is missing, Murray said.
The Western Wayne County Fire Department Mutual Aid Association that responded to the scene trains representatives from 21 different cities and combines equipment and resources necessary to respond to “highly technical, but low frequency” incidents, such as a parking garage collapse, Murray said.
Murray said in 24 years in fire service, this is the first parking garage collapse he has seen. The incidents are pretty rare, he said.
Murray said he was proud of the response by firefighters.
“I want to thank the firefighters and the Western Wayne team for their professionalism and all their hard work,” Murray said. “It was very, very cold yesterday and they did a phenomenal job given the adverse conditions and the snow and ice and really working hard to get this young man out.”
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dearborn parking garage collapses, man trapped in vehicle rescued
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
