Arnold Fire and Emergency Services team rescues five people trapped 300 feet underground at J-4

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – Saturdays at Arnold Air Force Base are typically quieter days, with most of the workforce at home spending the weekends with their families.

But on Saturday, Feb. 29, it wasn’t so quiet for the Arnold Fire and Emergency Services crew.

A call came into the FES station around 11:30 a.m., informing the team that five craftsmen were trapped in an elevator at the bottom of the J-4 Rocket Motor Test Facility.

According to Assistant Fire Chief Tom Lombard, the craftsmen had been performing maintenance work, diverting water and cleaning underneath the test facility to keep piping clear and operational. After com­pleting their task, the group was making their way out of the facility using the elevator when the control system failed to respond. The individual monitoring the work from the ground level called FES when the other members radioed they were stuck.

“The safety lock showed that the door to the elevator was open, and as a safety measure elevators won’t move if the doors are per­ceived to be open,” Lom­bard said.

Upon getting the call, Lombard and his team re­sponded immediately and began to develop rescue plans.

“The best method, or ‘Plan A’ in a case such as this, is to wait for the elevator repairman to see if they can get the elevator functioning properly to get the people out that way,” he said.

While waiting for the elevator repairman, the FES rescue team set out their equipment and began building the complex rigging systems they would use to retrieve the individuals if needed.

“Once the elevator repair­man arrived and determined he couldn’t get the elevator operat­ing, then we put our next plan into action,” Lombard said. “I put Sam Teat, one of our rescue tech­nicians, as the lead on the rescue and our guys went to work. All 15 responders on duty that day as­sisted in completing the rescue.”

Luckily, none of the individu­als stuck in the elevator sustained any injuries. Prior to getting the craftsmen out, the FES team sent down bottles of water and blankets.

“To do a rescue like this, at these depths, there are inherent risks,” Lombard said. “But we were able to start the rigging at the ground level and bring the rope straight down the tunnel.”

Brian Barnes, a rescue tech­nician with Arnold FES, was the one tasked with making the almost 300-foot vertical descent into the J-4 silo to assist in bring­ing the five workers up.

Firefighter Christopher Elsen was lowered to a platform at around the 150-foot mark to pro­vide a safety check as each person was hoisted.

“The team did fantastic,” Lombard said.

“We will be debriefing so we can key in on some lessons learned, but I couldn’t be happier. I’m proud of the work done, of what we were able to accomplish and that no one was injured.”

Teat added he was also im­pressed with the entire team.

“Everyone did a great job as­sisting, which made everything go really smoothly,” he said.

Barnes agreed it went so well that the call felt like a training exercise.

“Because there were no medi­cal emergencies, it seemed like an impromptu training exercise,” he said. “Though the guys we were called to rescue were nervous about being taken up the 300 feet tunnel, we assured them that we prepare for this type of thing every day. We tried to make them as comfortable with the process as possible.”

Of course, this was not the first time that the FES team has been called to a situation involving a confined space.

“Every day workers enter a variety of confined spaces,” Lom­bard said. “In preparation, we have confined space training and exercises, and practice rigging exercises throughout the year.”

On a regular basis, the FES team members preincident plan each facility to become familiar with the layout should an emergency occur there.

Daryle Lopes, the chief of Fire and Emergency Services, commented on the rescue opera­tion.

“The values we seek to live by at Arnold Fire are ‘Be Safe, Be Prepared, Be Professional and Be Dedicated,'” he said. “The J-4 rescue was just one more opportunity for us to serve the AEDC community in a time of great need. I couldn’t be more proud of the way the entire fire protection team puts our values to work on a daily basis.”

Anyone in need of emergency assistance on base should first dial 911. If using a cell phone, the caller must inform the dispatcher that the call is coming from Arnold Air Force Base so that the call is transferred to FES.