21-05-2025
New Jersey crews had to clear debris, stabilize house before rescuing dump truck driver in Woodbury Heights
Specialized rescue crews responded Tuesday afternoon in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey, to save a man trapped inside a dump truck lodged inside a crumbled house.
There are only a few search and rescue units in South Jersey that can tackle that kind of emergency, and the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, made up of units from Cherry Hill, Camden and Winslow Township fire departments, were already behind because it took them about 25 minutes just to get to the scene in Gloucester County.
"It requires the most manpower, the most equipment," Captain Stephen Kinky with the Cherry Hill Fire Department said of the shoring process to stabilize a structure prior to a rescue.
On Tuesday afternoon, Lt. Sean Carlin said his team had to meticulously assess the situation and evaluate the next steps when they arrived on scene.
"We have to worry about a couple things: One, structural integrity; two, a gas leak going on; and three, there's a life at stake, which is the most important thing," Carlin said.
Fortunately, the utility company was able to shut off the gas, and the truck driver was alert and talking to first responders. Rescue crews then focused on the structural integrity of the demolished house but before they could even begin the shoring process, crews had to clear mounds of debris because the entire first floor had been blown out by the impact of the truck.
Rescue squads in Camden County regularly practice shoring a building using mechanical struts that fit together to achieve the necessary bracing. The struts are kept on a rescue truck for this very type of operation.
"They make life very simple. If we don't have them, we're going back to old school to cutting wood, measuring, putting wedges and building shores. These (mechanical struts) streamline that and speed us up in the process," Kinky said.
Once the house was structurally safe, crews were able to slide the driver out of the dump truck and bring him to safety.
