A maintenance worker in Illinois spent more than six hours trapped high above the ground inside a 130-foot gas station sign after the lift he was using stopped working.
The worker, who identified himself as AJ Gow, was repairing the towering sign Tuesday along Lorenzo Road near Interstate 55 in Wilmington.
The Wilmington Fire District said crews were dispatched to the scene at 1:55 p.m. after receiving a report that a worker was stuck inside one of the enclosed signs mounted at the top of the pole.
“The telescopic boom lift used by the worker had malfunctioned and Fire District personnel were told he had been at the elevated position for around 3 hours,” fire district officials said in a statement posted on social media.
Fire crews with the Wilmington Fire District in Illinois use a boom lift to reach and rescue maintenance worker AJ Gow, who was trapped for hours Tuesday inside one of the signs atop a 130-foot pole. (Wilmington Fire District)
Officials said the equipment failure left Gow stranded far above the ground, with responders learning he had already been stuck at the elevated position for roughly three hours before they arrived.
The rescue was complicated by the design of the sign pole, which had no built-in stairs or ladders, leaving crews unable to climb up to him without bringing in another lift, officials said.
Adding to the challenge, Wilmington Fire District ladder trucks can extend only 100 feet, putting Gow about 30 feet beyond their reach.
Eventually fire officials located another boom lift in the Joliet area, which is roughly 20 miles north of the rest stop. The lift was brought to the sign with an Illinois State Police escort, officials said.
AJ Gow, the worker, said he spent over six hours trapped in the interior of the sign after his lift malfunctioned. (Wilmington Fire District)
After the new lift was in place, firefighters were able to reach Gow and get him back to the ground, the fire district said.
Gow thanked all the first responders from different departments that came to his aid, saying that “seeing that lift roll up with police escorts was the highlight of my day for sure!!”
Gow later said on social media that he spent over six hours in a cramped position within the interior of the sign.
An aerial view of the sign AJ Gow was trapped in for more than six hours this week. (WFLD)
“I was too hot and thirsty to be anxious. I was moreso nauseous and dizzy. And incredibly uncomfortable to be in for over 6 hours. It was only 16″ wide and wasn’t even tall enough to stand fully upright either,” Gow wrote in response to someone commenting on the fire district’s post.
In another comment, Gow said the sign “kept swaying with the wind.”
Gow said that after he got down, he went to the hospital to be treated for dehydration. INC News reached out to Gow for comment.
