LFR crews rescue man who fell into compactor at Lincoln recycling center

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln Fire & Rescue crews saved a man who fell into a cardboard compactor at a recycling center on Thursday.

First responders were sent to Green Quest Recycling near Fourth and J Streets around 12:45 p.m.

LFR spokeswoman MJ Lierman said a worker fell into the compactor while it was running and got pinned inside.

Capt. Scott Pierson said the first crews to arrive asked for more assistance, and dozens of rescuers showed up.

“The first arriving crew knew right away that is was going to be a prolonged entrapment and extrication,” he said. “Lot of moving parts we had going. We all worked together.”

Lierman said the machine was running for some time while the worker was inside before being shut down. Someone had to cut the power to turn it off.

She said the compactor holds up to 1,500 pounds of cardboard and crushes it from the bottom and sides.

The rescue crews then had to dig their way through the cardboard to get the worker out.

“There was a lot of people working in a small area,” Pierson said. “A lot of cardboard, and it’s pretty hot in that area. So the crews worked really hard in a pretty difficult situation and did an outstanding job.”

Eventually, two rescuers got the man – who was conscious the entire time – out of the compactor.

The entire rescue took about 40 minutes.

Pierson said everyone involved was prepared.

“This was exactly what we did with all our tech rescue trainings,” he said. “It kind of all comes together when you see stuff like this.”

The worker was taken to a trauma center to be treated for his injuries.  The extent of his injuries is unknown.

LFR officials couldn’t share many details about how the man fell into the compactor but said it was an accident.

They said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be investigating.

This is a developing story.  Stick with Channel 8 for any updates.