Long Beach
Fire Department

At 1:24pm today, LBFD resources responded to an industrial accident involving two workers trapped by broken glass.   Pallets of window glass loaded in a shipping container suddenly became free and shatterred on top of the workers as they attempted to unload it.   First arriving units found two men in their mid-twenties trapped by broken glass up to chest-level inside the container.  Firefighters, primarily using only their hands for debris removal, were able to extricate both patients in about 30 minutes.  A total of 2 Battalion Chiefs, 1 truck company, 1 engine company, and 2 paramedic rescues responded to the incident.  Both patients were transported in stable condition with traumatic injuries (lacerations) to area hospitals.  A few firefighters and some co-workers of the trapped victims suffered minor lacerations to their hands during the extrication.  All were treated and released on scene.