It's a scene straight out of a horror story: hand gets caught in meat grinder. For one Orland Park, Ill. man, the nightmarish situation became a terrifying reality.
Orland Park firefighters responded to the emergency call on Nov. 3, when a man's fingers had been caught in a food meat grinder says the Orland Park Prairie. The Tribune says the accident happened as the man, a grocery store worker near 143rd Street and Wolf Road, was processing meat.
Firefighters on the scene couldn't free the unnamed man without causing more injuries to his hand, reports Orland Park Patch. Instead, the first responders set to work dissembling the machinery down to its smallest component so the man could be taken to the hospital.
Since the man arrived with the machinery, slightly larger than a pizza box, still around his hand, the fire crew was drafted to assist the emergency room staff at the hospital. The Tribune detailed the amazing procedure, which Patch reports included the use of a mini version of the Jaws of Life.
Orland Park Fire Chief Ken Brucki told the Tribune, sadly, the man will likely lose "at least all of his fingers, if not his hand.”
The rescue was the first of its kind for Orland Park firefighters, who are also trained as paramedics.