James J. Murphy, 21, coal handler, saved Michael J. Sheehan, 52, coal handler, from suffocation, New York, New York, July 10, 1948. While working in a coal bunker 42 feet deep that contained 400 tons of granulated coal used to generate electricity, Sheehan was caught in a coal slide and swept downward into a chute that was discharging the coal into a mill located beneath the bunker. Sheehan’s safety belt, to which a line was attached, slipped off, and he was wedged in the chute and buried to a depth of 18 inches. Without protection and aware that additional slides might occur, Murphy, who had been tending the other end of the line from a catwalk over the bunker, descended a ladder into the bunker and walked cautiously across the coal to the position of the chute. There he dug away coal and uncovered Sheehan’s head. Sheehan was unconscious. Murphy cleared away coal to the depth of Sheehan’s shoulders and then ascended the ladder and ran to an office adjacent to the bunker, informing three men there of the accident. The mill was shut off to prevent movement of more coal into the chute, and all ran to the bunker. Sheehan was revived and removed from the chute by Murphy and the others. 3642-41835
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