Nicholas A. Bruno, 20, construction worker, died as the result of attempting to rescue Richard C. Fisher, 47, construction worker, from a cave-in in an excavation, Lewistown, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1954. Fisher was working at the bottom of a 14-foot section of a sewer excavation which was 13 feet deep and 3.5 feet wide. The earthen walls of the section were supported by vertical wooden shoring buttressed at intervals of four feet by heavy horizontal timbers. A large quantity of earth slid from one end of the excavation, the cave-in burying Fisher to his neck. Another man working nearby ran to safety at the opposite end of the section and climbed to the surface. Without hesitation Bruno stepped to the edge of the section, swung himself over the top of the shoring, and began descending the timbers toward Fisher. Reaching the top of the section just after Bruno’s entry, John L. Weaver, Sr., and Arlin G. Vance climbed onto the uppermost timber and followed Bruno downward. Within 30 seconds after the first cave-in, a massive section of earth suddenly gave way along one wall, violently shoving ahead of it the shoring and timbers. Fisher’s head was buried by earth. Bruno, Weaver, and Vance were thrust against the opposite wall, which remained solidly in place. Bruno, who was seven feet below ground level, was struck by a collapsing timber and pinned tightly between the shoring, sustaining severe internal injuries. Weaver was caught at the hips and legs. A workman atop the wall got hold of Weaver, freed him from the shoring and timbers, and lifted him out of the section. A timber pinned Vance’s legs, but he got hold of the top of the shoring and drew himself from the excavation. Vance and other workmen raised some of the shoring and sawed away other portions. In two hours they freed Bruno and removed Fisher, who was pronounced dead of suffocation. Bruno was rushed to a hospital but died of his injuries the following day. 43178-3939
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