Brentwood man rescued from cesspool construction site

A worker building a cesspool at an East Hills home was trapped in a 35-foot-hole Tuesday for five hours after dirt collapsed on him, burying him up to his waist.

>>PHOTOS: Man trapped in East Hills cesspool

>>VIDEO: See workers rescue a man trapped in a cesspool

When Mario Flores, 37, of Brentwood, was finally plucked from the dig by emergency workers at 3:54 p.m., he emerged with a splint on his arm but otherwise in good condition. Relieved rescuers and onlookers clapped and cheered moments before he was airlifted to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

"Everyone was just cheering, celebrating and telling each other 'good job' and 'nice work,' " said Vinny Bourne, a Con Edison worker who participated in the rescue.

Tuesday night, Flores was listed in "satisfactory, stable condition" and was receiving treatment for exposure, said police and hospital officials.

It was a dramatic ending for a trying day that began to unfold at 11:21 a.m. when, Nassau County fire officials said, the Roslyn Fire Department responded to a home on Peacock Drive after a report of a worker trapped in a cesspool.

Soon after the first emergency vehicles started pulling into the area, news and emergency helicopters began hovering over the blocked-off area. More than 40 trucks from different fire departments responded to the scene. Nearby, a helicopter landed on the lawn at the Harbor Hill elementary school, part of an emergency response team ready to evacuate the worker when he was freed.

A second worker had tried to aid Flores without success and police had ordered him out when they arrived.

Rescue workers had to battle crumbling, sandy soil that apparently had been dug for the installation of a new residential septic system, officials said. Workers put up wooden planks to keep the dirt in place and a ladder was placed into the hole.

But the rescue was hampered time and again by falling dirt, which forced rescuers to cut wood to brace the hole, said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the Nassau County Police.

Police said Flores works for Antorino Sewer & Drain in Centerport. His employer didn't return calls for comment Tuesday night. The owner of the house could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Initially, Smith said Flores, who had been working in the hole at the time, was buried in dirt as high up as his chest. He appeared to be in "somewhat good" condition, and was said to be conscious, alert and communicating with rescuers, Smith said.

As the hours went by, a medic went down into the hole with Flores to monitor his vital signs as rescuers worried he would develop hypothermia and compartment syndrome, a condition where the organs are compressed.

As sunset approached, emergency workers brought large lamps and heaters to the scene.

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Bourne, a mechanic from Bellerose, Queens, said Con Edison sent two trucks to the scene just before 2 p.m. The trucks use 8-inch hoses to "vacuum" dirt and debris from openings and holes, he said.

The two trucks kept sucking up dirt; however the sandy soil kept falling back on the trapped man, Bourne said. Rescue workers finally kept the soil away by building a wooden box out of 2-by-4s and plywood. Once the box was built around Flores, he was pulled safely from the hole, Bourne said.Fire personnel were in the hole, secured by ropes, Bourne said. "Once they got him free, they put him on a gurney and pulled him up with ropes," Bourne said.

>>PHOTOS: Man trapped in East Hills cesspool

>>VIDEO: See workers rescue a man trapped in a cesspool

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