Apprentice flown to hospital after being pinned by elevator at Google data center
A contractor's apprentice was seriously injured at a Google data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, after being pinned by an elevator. The Council Bluffs Fire Department experienced delays in accessing the site due to communication issues at the front gate. Fire officials are now planning a meeting with Google to address these issues and prevent future emergency response delays.
A contractor's apprentice suffered serious injuries at Google's data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Monday evening when he became trapped beneath an exterior construction elevator. The Council Bluffs Fire Department, responding to a 911 call from the victim's supervisor, encountered communication issues at the front gate of Google's Southlands campus, delaying their access to the injured worker by approximately 10 minutes.
Fire Marshal Alex Ford noted that while emergency access typically proceeds smoothly, this incident was the first time the department experienced such a delay at the Google campus. Firefighters successfully extricated the apprentice, who was awake and alert, and he was transported via LifeNet medical helicopter to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Council Bluffs fire officials are now seeking a meeting with Google to discuss the incident and implement measures to prevent similar emergency response delays in the future, especially given the data center's distance from the fire station.