Document text
50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, December 11, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 9, 2004 Jeff, whose last name was unavailable at press time, smiles in the back of an ambulance after being plucked out of a well by Fire District 5 crews. He fell in when the landing gave away during a maintenance job on Wagner Creek Road. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Man pulled from icy well Victim was cold, but OK By JACK MORAN Mail Tribune TALENT — After spending at least two hours trapped in water up to his chest about 40 feet down a well shaft, a man was lifted to safety Wednesday evening by a team of determined firefighters. The man was doing maintenance on a well behind a home in the 9000 block of Wagner Creek Road when he fell, said Chief Dan Marshall of Jackson County Fire District 5. "As soon as he stepped in there, the landing gave away," Marshall said. Firefighters, who do not generally obtain names of people transported to hospitals, said the man’s first name was Jeff. District 5 firefighter Steve Maziarski was lowered into the dark shaft. Within minutes, he secured the trapped man on a safety line and crews pulled him out with heavy ropes. When Jeff rose to the top at about 6:10 p.m., firefighters and co-workers asked him how he was feeling. Advertisement "I’m fine," he said before being whisked away in an ambulance to Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, where he was treated and released, a nursing supervisor said. Firefighters said Jeff was cold and had possibly suffered minor injuries to his legs and arms in the fall. He appeared to be in good spirits after the ordeal. Maziarski said he found Jeff wading in chest-high well water. The man could have easily drowned had he not stabilized himself on the well’s interior walls before falling completely into the water. Maziarski guessed there was about 20 feet of standing water in the well. "It was cold enough down there for hypothermia to set in ... but his spirits were pretty good," said Maziarski, who wrapped himself in a thick blanket after taking off his wet firefighter’s turnouts inside an ambulance. "(Jeff) just wanted out of there — he was cold," Maziarski added. District 5 crews rushed to the scene at about 4:45 p.m. after a neighborhood resident phoned 9-1-1 to report Jeff had fallen into the well. Marshall said Jeff had been trapped for at least 30 minutes when the resident heard him screaming for help. Jeff, an employee of Green Valley Pump in Talent, is in his 30s, Marshall said. An unidentified co-worker at the scene said Jeff was working alone when he fell into the well. District 5 and Ashland Fire and Rescue crews worked on mucky ground through a steady rain to set up a system of ropes that ultimately freed Jeff from the well. Ashland fire Capt. Bob Cockrell stayed in communication with Jeff and Maziarski while both were in the well. He said his firefighters train with District 5 crews for situations involving rescues of trapped victims. "That, without a doubt was a great team effort," Cockrell said. "They were in tight confines ... and the first thing we wanted to make sure of was that we didn’t do any more harm." When Maziarski was lifted from the well, he received an ovation from fellow firefighters, many of whom said he had performed heroically. "I wouldn’t say I’m a hero," he said. "We train for this sort of thing." Reach reporter Jack Moran at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities