BURLESON - A cellphone tower worker is in stable condition after a long and harrowing rescue by Burleson firefighters, who climbed 760 feet of hot metal to bring him down.
Officials say the man became disoriented in the heat and took off his safety harness, collapsing on a ledge at the top of the tower late Wednesday evening.
Firefighter Dallas Fowler reached him first.
"I was cramping," he said. "I had to stop, but I had to keep pushing on through."
Two more firefighters joined him at the top. Their arms, hands and legs burned in pain while the wind blew their ropes sideways. Since they couldn't get to the stricken worker out onto the platform, they tossed him a bag of saline intended for an IV, which he drank.
"When we got to him, I didn't know we could get him down," Fowler said.
They started their climb at about 8 p.m. and the rescue lasted nearly seven hours.
"When we got some fluids in him, he could move again," said firefighter Bill Buchanan.
They talked the man into his harness and into rescue gear so they could lower him down on a rope.
"It was very, very satisfying," said firefighter Matt Moseley with a grin. "Very satisfying."
They say the tallest ladder they train on is 100 feet. The oldest to go up, Bill Buchanan, is 56.
"I'm an avid rock climber," he said. "I enjoy it."
When asked if he enjoyed the rescue climb, he quickly replied "yes." His aching colleagues didn't seem to share that sentiment.
But, they did all agreed it was the hardest and most satisfying thing they have ever done.
Burleson's fire chief said there's always an evaluation after a complex rescue operation. In this case, he said, his guys were perfect.
