SEWICKLEY, Pa.,None — A Sewickley Wastewater Treatment Plant employee became faint and died Thursday while working in a 30-foot hole, and three other people who tried to rescue him were overcome by an unknown gas and had to be hospitalized, officials said.
VIDEO: 1 Dead, 3 Injured After Being Trapped
Jack Hogan III, 31, of Baden, was the worker who died, said Sewickley Borough Manager Kevin Flannery. Hogan, who was hired in June, was married and his wife gave birth to a child about eight weeks ago, Flannery said.
The medical examiner said that Hogan died of multiple blunt force trama.
"Right now, everybody's in shock," said Hogan's uncle, Jeff DeVincent. "He was the sweetest, most-loving boy on the planet. He had a 2-month-old baby. Brand new born, Delaney."
"The borough family's taken a real loss," Flannery said. "It's a sad day for all of us."
Hogan was working in the hole and fell back into it as he was trying to climb out shortly before 1 p.m., Flannery said. Hogan radioed for help after becoming faint, said Tom Rabickow, a forensic supervisor with the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office.
Hogan's best friend Jayson Park said that he recently started his job at the plant and was "thrilled" to be working there. Park said Hogan was one-of-a-kind.
"He always put everyone else first," said Park. "Heaven's getting one of the best. He's a number one draft pick in my book."
Flannery said the plant's supervisor, Dennis Mike; an inspector for the borough's engineering firm; and a construction worker for a contractor climbed into the hole to help Hogan. All three were overcome by fumes, he said.
They were taken to Allegheny General Hospital. One of the sickened workers, Shawn Haynes, of Bentleyville, was released Thursday evening and said he was overcome by gas.
"As soon as I got down in there, I tapped one of the other guys that came down on the back, said I wasn't feeling so well and that's all I remember," Haynes said. "They said I dropped like a ton of bricks."
Franklin Pounds Jr., 42, of New Castle was one of the injured men, according to his father. Franklin Pounds Sr. said his son suffered some of the most serious injuries, including several broken bones and a collapsed lung.
Pounds Sr. said his son was one of the first people to try and assist the man who fell into the 30 foot pit. He said his son's supervisor called him Thursday afternoon to tell him what happened.
"My son and an inspector and another gentleman went down to help him, and my son was overcome by gas and fell about 20 feet. The other two gentlemen were overcome, and they landed on top of him," said Pounds Sr. "Right now, I haven't seen him, but they think he broke his leg, some ribs, and they have him on oxygen."
It's unclear what the fumes were or where they originated, but Flannery said emergency workers did detect a small amount of methane gas when they arrived.
"It appears to be some sort of sewer gas," Flannery said.
A Sewickley firefighter also suffered a minor injury during the rescue.
"The fire department brought them up," said Chief of Valley Ambulance Authority, J.R. Henry. "We evaluated them. Some had numerous injuries from falling down the ladder inside the pit."
Firefighters who responded to rescue the men said it was a challenging day.
"My trip to the scene I remember about half of it," said Cochran Hose Company chief Jeff Neff. "That's how quick everything happened yesterday. But I've never been more proud of my team at Cochran Hose Company."
Neff said he and his men had to carry 30 pounds of equipment on their backs down the 30 foot hole. In addition, they also had to carry oxygen tanks to the trapped men.
Neff said the firefighters also had to deal with ear piercing alarms that were going off because of toxic levels of gas.
Firefighter Ian Richards said it was an especially challenging day because he knows the men who were involved in the accident.
"These are guys we work with and see on a daily basis," said Richards. "It was unreal to see guys sprawled out and you realize you know them. It kicked it up a notch."
The plant, owned by the borough, is still in operation, Flannery said. Construction will continue Monday on a $5 million upgrade that Hogan was working on with the others.
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