Carl W. Froding, aged forty-six, concrete finisher, died attempting to save Fred Simmons, aged sixty-four, pump tender, from suffocation, Wilmington, California, May 7, 1942. Simmons, 64, pump tender, entered a manhole that extended down eight and a half feet and entered a sewer five and a half feet in diameter. Sewage was two feet deep in the sewer. Hydrogen sulphide gas was in the sewer, and there was a strong odor of sewage at the manhole opening. Five minutes later Froding, 46, concrete finisher, who was near the opening, called to the only other man present, “Come on, quick.” He then descended into the manhole, and no sound came from him. A few minutes later a man, who wore a gas-mask, entered the sewer and found the two men floating motionless within 15 feet of the manhole, near a bulkhead that blocked the sewer completely. They were pulled to the surface on ropes, and the man climbed out. Neither Froding nor Simmons could be revived. 39502-3277
39502 – 3277
39502-3277