IN WHAT firies have described as a 'challenging' rescue, a man and woman had to be extricated from a narrow passage between two buildings on Friday night.
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About 10.35pm emergency services were called to Wickham Street, Wickham to reports of a person trapped.
On arrival Fire and Rescue NSW crews found a male in his 20s had fallen about 10 metres down a narrow space between two buildings, one being a multi-storey construction site.
"The incident presented some challenges due to the limited access and narrow work space for crews, low light, and weather conditions," a report from Lambton Fire and Rescue crew said.
"To complicate the incident, a female friend of the male had also then slid down between the buildings in attempt to aid her friend, and in turn was also trapped with no way to exit between the narrow space between the two buildings."
Firefighters from Newcastle and Lambton, with the help of paramedics, used rope equipment to gain access to the two people. Both were assessed and the injured male stabilised. Firefighters constructed a vertical rescue hauling system to retrieve both persons.
"The patient was in quite a precarious position - so it did prove to be a complex rescue," NSW Ambulance duty operations manager Inspector Joel De Zuna said.
The man suffered lower limb fractures and was transported to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition. The woman, also in her mid 20s, was assessed at the scene but did not require further treatment.
"While he did suffer fractures to his lower limbs, his injuries had the potential to be much worse," Inspector De Zuna said.
"People need to take personal responsibility and know that there are consequences to their actions, whether it be serious injury to themselves or someone else"
Police will investigate the circumstances leading to the incident.
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IN THE NEWS:
Jessica Brown
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
Jessica began her journalism career in 2009 as a cadet at The Port Stephens Examiner before moving to London for a two-year stint working in magazines and digital publishing. The Lake Macquarie local returned to Australia where she took up a reporting role at The Maitland Mercury. She worked across several rounds including local council, police and property before moving into digital journalism and joining the team at The Newcastle Herald in 2017.
