Electrician falls in air duct, rescued

By Dixita Viswanath     1/9/13 6:00pm

On Jan. 3, local news swarmed Rice campus to report that an employee was rescued from the attic of Rayzor Hall. According to Houston Fire Department Public Information Officer Jay Evans, around 10:45 a.m, an electrician who was called to check on the air conditioning vent in the ceiling of Rayzor Hall fell through the ducts and required the fire department to remove him from the walls.

Evans attributed the accident to poor communication and an unfortunate situation.

"While the Facilities, Engineering and Planning electrician was in the ceiling of Rayzor Hall, someone accidentally shut off the lights in that room, pitching the electrician in total darkness," Evans said. "The electrician tried to back out but slipped and fell between the air ducts."

---

---

The electrician called 911 using his cell phone, alerting HFD about the accident. Evans said it took approximately 80 minutes to cut through the walls in Rayzor Hall to extricate the individual.

The electrician was sent to a local hospital for observation. He was sent home later that day in good health and will be back at work in the near future, Evans said.

According to FE&P Manager of Communications Susann Glenn, a safety investigation is being conducted by an internal, which is standard procedure after an incident like this. She declined to comment until the investigation is completed.

Will Rice College junior Kai Sheng said she was shocked when she read the news email sent out to all students on Jan. 3.

"I'm surprised that there were no safety measures put in place to prevent these kinds of [accidents]," Sheng said.

---