KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Emergency crews rescued a person who became trapped under steel beams at a fabrication business in the 3800 block of Raytown Road.
A spokesperson for the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department confirmed that it had crews respond to attempt a rescue shortly after 12:40 p.m. at Kansas City Structural Steel.
Jimmy Walker, assistant fire chief for KCFD, said the person was pinned under three I-beams, which weigh about 5,000 pounds each.
Walker said the person's legs and arm were pinned under the beams. After the person was freed with the assistance of a regional technical rescue response team, the individual was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries but in stable condition.
The person had both legs and an arm pinned under the beams.
Crews used air bags and hoist systems located inside the building to help with the rescue.
"It's a resource the citizens of Kansas City are lucky to have," Walker said of the technical rescue team. "Not every community has this and sometimes it takes a long time to get these types of highly trained crews on the scene, but our crews did a wonderful job today."
Federal authorities have opened a workplace safety investigation into the incident.
A representative for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration confirmed Wednesday that it has "opened an investigation with Kansas City Structural Steel."
OSHA has six months to complete the investigation and does not plan to release additional information until that investigation is complete.
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