Worker who fell at Wichita feed mill improving
By Stan Finger
July 27, 2017 4:45 PM
Wichita, KS:
A contractor who fell 15 to 20 feet at the Purina Mills plant north of downtown Wednesday morning has been upgraded to serious condition at a Wichita hospital.
The man was working at a feed plant in the 1800 block of North Topeka when he fell to the sixth floor, according to the Twitter account WichitaFire.org, which posts about fire department activity. Crews were able to lower him to the ground, where he was transported to Via Christi Hospital St. Francis in critical condition.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Purina Mills is a small business with 20 to 49 employees. Categorized under prepared feed & feed ingredients for animals production, Purina Mills has an annual revenue of $5 to 10 million. Purina Mills is a public business located in Wichita, KS.
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Wichita fire and rescue crews removed an injured worker after he fell inside a grain elevator.
The accident happened around 10 a.m. Wednesday at a Purina facility at 18th and Topeka. Battalion chief Brad Boyd said the man was working in a mechanical area when he fell 15 to 20 feet and had severe injuries.
Boyd said because of equipment and tight spaces, crews were only able to go in two or three at a time to get to the man and determine if he could be moved. The man was placed in a Stokes basket and taken down by an internal elevator. The fire department had a ladder truck extended outside the elevator as an alternate way of removing the worker, but it wasn't needed for the rescue.
The worker, believed to be in his 30s, was taken out on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance, and he was taken to Via Christi St. Francis in critical but stable condition.