Man rescued from concrete silo in Naperville

A man trapped in a silo at a Naperville concrete plant was rescued Monday by crews from roughly 20 area fire departments.

Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis said his department responded at 11:30 a.m. to a report of a male employee trapped in sand that came nearly to his waist inside a 30-foot silo at concrete manufacturer Dukane Precast on the 1800 block of High Grove Lane.

It is unclear how the 37-year-old employee ended up in the silo, which is located inside the building and is only assessable from a catwalk, according to the Naperville fire department.

Puknaitis said his department called for a technical rescue team, which includes members from about 20 area departments with specialized skills

Members of the rescue team climbed up the catwalk and secured the trapped worker to prevent him from sinking further into the sand, fire officials said.

Paramedics, under direction from Edward Hospital medical staff, performed advanced life support care on the man while crews worked to free him, officials said.

Two vacuum trucks from Naperville's Department of Public Utilities were used to vacuum the sand from around the worker, and once some of the sand was cleared, a harness was placed on him.

“We had to remove the material from the silos to get the patient harnessed and move him out,” Puknaitis said.

The worker was lifted out of the silo in a rescue basket and taken to Edward Hospital where he was listed in stable condition as of Monday night.

All operations at the facility were halted, and the man was free by about 2:30 p.m. Puknaitis said the worker was talking with Naperville paramedics.

No other injuries were reported.

Naperville police were investigating how the man became trapped. Puknaitis said he expects the Occupational Safety and Health Administration also will review the case as a matter of protocol.