On September 13, 2024, at 7:31 a.m. Employee #1, a 34-year-old, was working inside a 9-foot-deep sewer manhole in Minnesota. The employee was performing a construction task to cement the end of a pipeline, sealing an old sewer line. The employee was NOT wearing a harness or hooked up to a tripod, and was working with another employee who was supervising and handing equipment from outside the manhole.
The Fire Department responded to a report of a person down and found the employee not breathing but with a strong pulse. High levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide were detected inside the manhole. It took 45 minutes to extricate the employee using the Fire Department’s equipment.
