Holey Situation

Rescuers spent a good part of Wednesday pulling a worker out of a trench in a south Richmond neighborhood. Fortunately plumber James Carneal was successfully removed his premature burial. The neighbors however are now wondering when the man eating hole will go away. From the RTD;

Carneal’s rescue occurred only after specially trained firefighters — 58 of them from Richmond and the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover — worked hours to secure the sides of the hole from giving way with shoring and pneumatic rods that exert sideways pressure against wall supports.

But after Carneal was pulled from the hole at 9 p.m. Wednesday, firefighters removed the supports. The backhoe Carneal used to dig the hole has been recovered by a rental agency, and area fire departments are maintaining they have no responsibility to fill the hole or keep it safe.

“We no longer have a responsibility there,” said Richmond Bureau of Fire Lt. Shawn L. Jones.

UPDATE: Hole being filled in story here.