A maintenance worker in Illinois found himself stuck in a 130-foot-tall gas station sign for roughly six and a half hours, but managed to send a thumbs up after the mishap.
The incident happened on Tuesday while he was working on the sign near Interstate 55 in Wilmington, where an elevator malfunctioned.
Fire officials reported that the worker fell ill just before 11 a.m., but it took about three hours for firefighters to reach the scene.
Unfortunately, the fire department’s 100-foot ladder wasn’t enough to access the confined space where the man was trapped.
According to fire officials, “There were no ladders or stairs in the pole, which meant there was no way for rescue teams to climb up as you would in typical high-angle rescues.”
Rescue workers eventually located a specialized lift in Joliet, around 27 miles away, to safely bring the worker back down.
This dramatic rescue quickly made waves online. A person identifying himself as “AJ,” a maintenance worker, expressed gratitude towards the fire department for their efforts amidst the reaction frenzy.
“Thank you to all the departments that came out for me today,” AJ wrote on Wilmington Fire’s Facebook page. “I was so grateful! Watching the elevator go up with a police escort was definitely the highlight of my day!!”
AJ posted a photo of himself on a pedestal inside the sign, telling a friend, “I was on top of this. I couldn’t stand up fully and the wind kept swaying. It was horrible.”
“I was there for about six and a half hours. It’s the sum,” he added, noting it was uncomfortable in the tight space.
The fire department mentioned the worker was physically fine, though he did experience severe dehydration, leading to his co-workers calling for assistance. He was later taken to the hospital.
AJ later updated his profile picture to show a thumbs up with the WLS Chopper 7 helicopter above him.
“The coverage at the end of the ordeal made it seem like it was going to be fun,” he recalled.
“When I saw the elevator arrive, I got a rush of adrenaline. It gave me a second wind. But after that, I felt terrible all night and still do.”
The Post has reached out for comment.
