5/16/99

Rescue Baby Jessy

By Lowell L. Ester[i]

It was Thursday May 13^th and I had just finished mowing the yard at 6:30 p.m. when the phone rang.  It was Mike Abasolo, a friend who lived about 4 blocks away in a new housing addition called Countrywalk.  He was wanting to know if he could have a wheelbarrow load of topsoil from an adjoining apartment complex that I had been working at earlier in the day to place in a couple of washouts around his new house.  I was waiting to go over to the neighbors at 7 p.m. for a small pizza party with some friends from Texas.  I advised Mike that I would come over to his house and bring him a loader bucket full of dirt so he didn’t have to wheelbarrow it while I was waiting to go eat.

I finished that small task hopped back into my company pickup and pulled up to the stop sign for Rock Road at the end of the driveway to Countrywalk Apartments.  While sitting at the stop sign I heard the Mulvane Dispatcher paging out an Ambulance call for a 17-month-old baby who had fell into a well 25’ deep at 102 Countrywalk Drive.  At first the severity of the call didn’t register with me.  I looked over to the south across a small wheat field, there standing in the backyard of the first house in the addition was a young man in a tank top talking on a cordless phone walking back and forth at a very fast pace.  I could tell the distress in the pace of his walk.  I knew this was the accident.  My immediate thought was of Larissa my two-year-old daughter who was at home with mommy waiting on my return to go play with her friend Josh and eat pizza at the neighbor’s.  I looked at my watch, it was 7 p.m.

I pulled around the corner and stopped about one house up from the address hoping that I would not get my truck trapped in by rescue vehicles.  I grabbed my walkie-talkie and ran around to the back of the house.  A neighbor had also arrived and was looking down into a hole in the ground.  I could hear the screams and cries of baby Jessy coming from the deep dark hole.  It hit me, this can’t be.  This only happens in far away places, not here in Mulvane, only two blocks from my home.  I ask the father, Jerry how deep the hole was.  I already knew that it was 60’ to water having drilled a well myself just three years ago.  He said 25’ and pointed to an 8” hand auger laying on the ground which had about four pipe extensions attached to it.  They appeared to be about three 8’ pieces and a short 4’ piece, I mentally calculated 28’ in my head.  The opening to the well was 12” x 14” wide at the top and narrowed to 8” very quickly.  It also did not go straight down but veered off to the north.  How could a child fall that deep into that small of a hole?  I ran back to my pickup and grabbed all three shovels that were there.

I moved back about 5’ from the well and started digging with the shovel.  The father and the neighbor grabbed shovels and also started digging.  The first police officer had arrived on the scene and Mulvane's Emergency Services supervisor for the evening Aaron Mattson had also just pulled up.  I had never met Aaron and I was worried that he was going to run me off.  I actually had no legal capacity at this scene.  My current affiliation was with Sedgwick County E.M.S. in which I am a Lieutenant/Crew Leader for their volunteer reserve program.  The call was within Sedgwick County but it was in the Mulvane City Limits.  I was soon realizing that hand digging was not the answer, but it was keeping everyone busy and it did look like we were trying to do something other than just standing around waiting.  Mulvane Fire Fighter Jim McDaniels, who had been assigned as Operations Officer, asked me to switch out from shoveling.  I gladly handed my shovel over to an old High School acquaintance, Dennis McKerracher.   I heard Arron make two important calls on his radio.  One he called for a backhoe and two, he called for mutual aid from Sedgwick County’s Tactical Rescue Team.  He also asked the dispatcher to call for emergency locates of the utilities at this address.  It was 7:07 p.m.  I quickly thought about the current equipment I had on my job site 500 feet away, one John Deere 624 front-end loader, no help.

Jimmy Reed, the Sumner County 911 director and Mulvane City Council member, arrived on the scene.  I was relieved to see a familiar face.  Jimmy has been a close friend of mine for about 20 years and his little brother John is the scheduling supervisor for my company, Bob Bergkamp Dirt Construction.  Mike Abasolo and his son Michael also came running up.  I asked them to take my pickup over to my house and get my wheelbarrow and also my neighbor’s wheelbarrow from across the street.  We would have to start getting the dirt away from the hole.

Operations Officer McDaniels came over to me and asked what I thought stating “this is your area of expertise”.  Having been in dirt construction for over 10 years and rescue work for over 20 years, nothing had ever prepared me for this.  All the while the muffled cries of baby Jessy could be heard in the background.

It was 7:15 p.m.  I went back to my truck radio and decided it was time to call my company for help.  I knew that the mechanics were working late and that the “move truck” driver Kyle Lechner was probably still around waiting on the mechanics to fix a machine to be moved to another jobsite.  I called for #27 Kyle (Move Truck).  I was surprised by the immediate response on the radio from #31 Dan Jones, the shop foreman.  He advised that he had Kyle on the phone as we were speaking.  They could tell from the tone of my voice that something was terribly wrong.  I told them I needed a backhoe at my job in Mulvane as soon as possible that a small baby had fallen into a well.  They advised me that there was a trackhoe (tracked excavator) in the yard and that Kyle was 15 minutes from the shop.  The shop would have the trackhoe running and ready for the movetruck.  It was a smaller John Deere 490 excavator.  I thought this would be a good choice since it was smaller and would not vibrate the ground as bad.  The downside was that it could only dig about 12’ deep.  Time had seemed to stop.

Mulvane’s dispatcher had started trying to contact local contractors and city crews.  I knew that the City's backhoe was a small rubber tire hoe.  More and more people started arriving.  The City of Mulvane utility crews and backhoe had arrived.  Chris Toleman showed me where the city utilities were.  We appeared to be clear for about 50' to the north of the house.  We set up their backhoe and Chris started slowly digging the Rescue Trench. 

The Sedgwick County Fire Station #36 arrived and started accessing the scene, it was 7:18pm.  Sedgwick County had started a small task force.  They had dispatched the call at 7:10 p.m.  The initial response was Heavy Rescue 38, Quint 38, Squad 36, Engine 36, Engine 34, Mobile Air 32, Safety Officer 85 and Division Chief 95.  Upon arrival and size up by County Station #36 the remainder of the Heavy Rescue Team from the City of Wichita was also started.  This included Engine 4, Heavy Rescue 4 and Battalion Chief 2.

We decided that since we were in good type "B" soil, stiff clay, we would dig the hole only 6' away from the well shaft.  We had to be careful not to vibrate the well shaft and break loose clods of dirt, which could fall on Jessy's head.  About 7:45 p.m. a John Deere 690 trackhoe arrived from a private contractor, Scott Human, who had heard about the accident.  Lieutenant Dave Pote with the County Rescue Team suggested that we switch backhoes and try the bigger machine.  I agreed since the dirt was tight and did not appear to be falling onto Jessy.  It would also be quite faster and would dig a 36” wide trench vs. the current machine which was only digging 18” wide.  The extra width would soon be important due to the room needed for shoring the sides of the well.  Jim Ford, the Mayor of Mulvane, came over and talked to me briefly.  I was happy to get any encouragement at this point.

Close to 8:00 p.m., the bigger hoe started digging.  Kyle in the Bob Bergkamp Company move truck arrived on scene with the smaller John Deere 490 excavator.  I advised them to unload it and continue bringing it up to the scene to standby as a backup machine.  The shop foreman and a mechanic had also followed the move truck to the scene in a pickup.  I had the mechanic go over to the adjoining jobsite and get the front-end loader to start carting away the excess dirt that the backhoe was digging.  I had the shop foreman call Jim Snook and Scott Bergkamp, the owners of my company, to advise them of the situation and our involvement.  I could see the TV crews starting to line up a block away in the drive to the apartment complex so I knew it would be on local TV soon.  I also realized that due to the tornado the week prior, that there were a lot of other newsmedia in town that would soon be arriving.

The Sheriff Patrol had arrived bringing a special crew from Vulcan Materials Company, a local chemical manufacturing plant.  They had with them a TV monitor with a fiber optic lens that they could lower down into the well to observe the position of the child.  The county rescue team had also lowered a monitoring device down into the well to check the air content around the child.  It was important to keep the oxygen concentration between 24 to 28 percent.  There was the stench of decomposing vegetation about 3 feet deep from buried topsoil when the basement was dug and backfilled.  This was a concern as to the possibility of methane gas in the well. The well was only about 6’ away from the house.  The rescue team had determined that baby Jessy's head was at 16’ 8” from the top of the ground, which meant that we needed to dig to a depth of 20’ with our rescue trench. The backhoe we were using could only reach 18’.   Another new problem, hypothermia, the temperature was 65 degrees at that depth.

At 8:05 the Salvation Army Canteen truck pulled up, I was getting very thirsty.  No time to break yet.  I also noticed that Sedgwick County Fire Marshal #91, Greg Thompson, had arrived as well as Judy Patterson, Mulvane Emergency Services Director.

I stood anxiously by while Scott Human dug the rescue trench.  I had never met Scott before but he was a very precise and careful operator, especially considering the stress and adrenaline that we were going through.  The Rescue Team had left the excavation of the rescue trench pretty much in my hands.  I retrieved a 16’ grade rod from my pickup and started checking depth for Scott.  I was very impressed with the willingness of the Rescue Team to work with me as a private contractor.  I know in the past that outsiders were often pushed back and considered to have inferior training in such matters.  However, this was the same Rescue Team that less than a year prior had to rescue workers trapped on top and under the DeBruce Grain Elevator in Haysville which had exploded. Also only two weeks prior they had been called in to work one of the worst tornado disasters in Sedgwick County history, which had left 5 dead and hundreds injured.  Both of these incidents had required the assistance of outside contractors.  I too still had memories of the rescues made just two weeks prior at the tornado disaster.

City utilities crews killed the electric power lines that were buried underground behind the house.  This would help prevent any accidental electrocutions if we got too close to the lines.  Carefully we dug.  The clays stood firm and were not vibrating loose and falling on baby Jessy.  It is now 8:10 p.m. and we are 15 feet deep with the rescue trench.  We could not dig much deeper from where the hoe is positioned.  We decided to dig out a 3’ to 4’ bench on top of the utilities.  I suddenly realized that we still had no locates for any of the utilities except the city power.  The gas lines were in the front of the house.  The only thing we had to worry about was hitting the already dead power lines or a telephone cable.  They were replaceable.  Lifewatch air ambulance helicopter was launched to standby at the scene to transport baby Jessy to the trauma center upon extrication.  They were bringing with them to the scene a warming bed for baby Jessy and the Sedgwick County Medical Director, Dr. Earnest L. McClellan.

At 8:30 p.m., as Lifewatch helicopter was making its final approach overhead, Lt. Pote decided that at 20’, the rescue trench was deep enough.  The rescue trench was now 36” wide, 20’ deep and 12’ long.  The excavator had done all it could do.  Now came the hand digging of the horizontal tunnel 6’ to 7’ over to the 8” well shaft.  One good thing that had happened was the red clays had turned into a sandy type soil at about 18’ deep. 

The next step was to shore the rescue trench with plywood and screwjacks.  The need for more plywood shoring had arisen.  A lumberyard about 10 miles away in Belle Plaine had been called and should have already been enroute.  I realized that about 1000’ away across the wheat field there was many pallets of 4’ x 8’ chipboard.  Lt. Pote said to get it and we could double it up for strength.  I had my loader head out for the construction area to retrieve the chipboard.  I went back to my pickup and got my 18-volt Dewalt battery powered drill to start screwing the wood together.

At 8:56 Sedgwick County Emergency Management supervisor John Crosby arrived onscene.  Sedgwick County Fire Chief #90, Gary Curmode also checked enroute to Mulvane.  A neighbor, Steve Bartel, who had come around to the backyard, nervously wanted to help.  I had been on a bowling league with Steve just this winter. The Rescue Team was now in the need of a small 20-pound pneumatic hammer with a 6” to 8” spade bit.  A call went out to the news media.  I started checking with our mechanics, no such thing, but we did have a large diesel powered air compressor.  Our shop Foreman started back towards the shop to retrieve the air compressor and to look for a large spade bit.  Jim Snook came on the company radio requesting an update on the situation and what more resources he could offer.  He unlocked the shop and started looking for spade bits for our air hammers.

Sedgwick County Medical Officer and paramedic Byron Chrisler had arrived onscene.  I had known Byron for at least 10 years.  He had been hired to take my place when I left Boeing Fire Department in 1989.  He asked me if I could locate a 2” rubber hose like the ones used on swimming pool vacuums.  He wanted to pipe warm air down into the well to help raise the air temperature for baby Jessy.  I knew exactly where one was, two blocks away in my pool shed.  I went to my truck to go retrieve the hose. I felt going home quickly would help relieve some of my tension and I could briefly say hi to Larrisa and my wife Linda. 

As I turned out onto Rock Road from Countrywalk Dr., I was amazed at the traffic jam, spectators and emergency vehicles.  Traffic was backed up and parked for at least a half mile to the south on both sides of the road.  I drove through the Sumner County Sheriffs roadblock and turned onto my street and into my driveway.  There were several neighbors and friends in my yard.  Larissa was running around happily unaware of the situation unfolding only blocks away.  I found the hose and started back.  The Sheriff stopped me and asked if I had the hose.  I was amazed.  How had he known what I had gone after?  I advised yes and he motioned me through.  There must have been more command in all of that confusion than I realized.

Still no luck with the spade bits that the rescue team desired.  I called our truck supervisor  #14 Mike Roberson, who also lived in Mulvane, on the radio and asked him to start calling the local body shops.  I also advised that we should start a mechanic’s service truck to this location for tools.  He advised that #84 Terry Draper had his service truck at his home in Rose Hill.  He could be there in about 15 minutes and he would bring his small air chisels. Terry soon came on the radio and suggested that I try to call a rental shop in Derby to try to locate a pneumatic hammer.  He gave me a couple phone numbers.

Steve Bartel loaned me his cellular phone.  Emergency Management said they had not tried the Derby rental agency yet.  The phone number to the owner was busy, so I called a second number.  That employee lived 20 minutes away.  He advised the owner was probably on the Internet.  I called Derby Police Department.  I identified myself as Lieutenant Ester with Sedgwick County EMS (my first and only designation of any authority that night) and that I needed an officer to contact the owner of Derby Tri-Rentals at his resident and call me as soon as possible.  They advised they would have an officer enroute immediately.  He called me back but did not have anything that would help.  Mechanic Terry Draper was now onscene.  I conferred with him, could we weld a piece of steel onto a chisel shank?  Sure, but he could not find any suitable steel on his service truck.  I called #14 Mike on the radio, he checked his shop.  He had some steel that would work.  I advised Jimmy Reed that Mike was coming with some steel to fabricate a digging spade and to advise the Sheriff let him through the roadblock.

At 9:56 p.m. Emergency Management called for a weather forecast for the next 6 hours.  There had been the possibility of severe storms in earlier weather forecasts.  At 10:15 p.m. the weather bureau advised just high clouds, 15-MPH winds, and temperatures in the lower 60’s.  The shoring was still continuing.  Lt. Pote asked me to use my cordless drill to start drilling holes in the top of the chipboards that we were nailing together so they could attach ropes to them.  Jim Snook, owner of Bob Bergkamp Construction had now arrived at the scene also. 

About 10: 30 p.m., the shoring was complete and the hand trenching was beginning.  Now the whole operation was in the hands of the Rescue Team.  We had brought in our diesel air compressor and were now supplying air for a pneumatic hammer that Steve Bartel had located.  The City of Mulvane had also brought in their compressor as a backup.  Mechanic Terry Draper had completed making the 6” spade bits to fit on the small air chisels.  We made two, one for a backup.  Lt. Pote again asked to use my battery-powered drill down in the rescue trench with a 1” paddle bit.  The idea was to drill holes to loosen up the dirt.

I went over to the Salvation Army Canteen truck.  I was parched.  I got a sandwich and a Pepsi.  Walking back over to the site I realized that they had never let any media into the site.  I went back to my pickup and got my camera bag.  I started taking pictures no one said a thing.  A Rescue Team member came over to me and asked me to start taking pictures of their shoring and some other details.  I gladly did so.  The tension was now mounting.

By 11:30 p.m. the Rescue Team thought that they were getting close, maybe another 45 minutes.  They kept measuring the depth of the tunnel and comparing it to the measurements from the top.  They didn’t want to get to close to the well with the pneumatic tools.  They switched to the small air chisels that we had built.  We shut down our big air compressor and switched to a smaller compressor on Terry’s service truck. 

At 11:35 the air chisel punched through into the well shaft!  The rescue team started hand digging with a trowel.  They could see his feet!  We moved our compressor and service truck out of the way and a small group of media people replaced them about 20’ away from the rescue trench.  Lifewatch pilot was advised to start the helicopter.

At 11:45 p.m. baby Jessy was pulled from the trench onto a spine board.  Applause went up from the bystanders and rescue workers.  Tears started flowing.  He appeared to be cold but not hurt badly other than some scrapes and bruises.  He was triaged as a Code Gray Level II Trauma simply due to the mechanism of injury.  He was transported by Mulvane Ambulance 350 two blocks away to the waiting Lifewatch helicopter.

After a short debriefing, workers started pulling up the shoring boards.  At about 1:30 a.m. we were ready to start backfilling the rescue trench.  I conferred with Operations Officer Duane McDaniels again to ask what we should do about the well.  By State Health Department regulations, the well was too close to the house.  It should have been a minimum of 25’ away from the structure.  This law is in place to prevent termite and insecticide poisons being applied to the foundations of houses from entering into the water table.  McDaniels decided that we should go ahead and backfill the well for safety reasons.

Scott Human fired his 690 excavator up and began digging the small wedge of dirt out between the well and the rescue trench.  Kyle loaded up our 490 excavator on his move truck.  I started up the 624 front-end loader and began carting the dirt back into the rescue trench.  Scott compacted the dirt with his backhoe bucket.  By 2:15 a.m. the backyard was all nice freshly raked dirt, minus two small trees that had been knocked down in the rescue effort.

At 2:30 a.m., I pulled into my driveway to try to catch a couple hours of sleep before work at 5:30 a.m.  I finally let out a much-needed sigh of relief as I turned off my pickup.  Sleep however did not come that morning.