Thomas J. Berns died after attempting to rescue Robert B. Flanagan, Jr., from suffocation, Waynesburg, Ohio, August 16, 1993. Flanagan, 25, collapsed in a 30-foot-deep drainage shaft on the premises of the landfill where he was employed; the shaft’s atmosphere was later found to contain toxic gases. A co-worker and friend, Berns, 26, heavy equipment operator, was alerted to the situation and responded to the scene. With a line secured around him, Berns entered the shaft, but, partway down, he too lost consciousness. Men outside the shaft pulled him to ground level and attempted to revive him. Arriving firefighters removed Flanagan from the shaft, but he had died from having inhaled toxic gases. Three days later, Berns succumbed to the same effect.
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