Being hailed as a hero for doing what he does best came as something of a shock for Brother James Hamilton, who operates the east tower crane for Synergy Formwork at the Parliament Hill Centre Block renovation project in Ottawa.
Early last Friday, Brother Hamilton responded to a call for help to extract an injured worker who had fallen into an inaccessible spot on the high-profile construction site. With a designated emergency platform (DEP) secured at the end of his line, he expertly maneuvered his Comedil 472 crane into position to lift in medical gear before lifting the injured man and two rescuers to safe ground.
With that job done, the OE simply got on with the rest of his day, unaware that the story had already been picked up by the media, including CTV and the Ottawa Citizen.
He said, “Once the fire trucks, police and paramedics had cleared the area, I just got back to work – business as usual. It wasn’t until the end of the day that I realized people had got quite excited by what had happened. I suppose I’ll take my 15 seconds of fame, but to me it was just a lift – the real heroes were the paramedic and firefighter who helped get the guy out.”
Having operated cranes since completing his apprenticeship at the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario in Oakville nearly 20 years ago, Brother Hamilton had only one real concern during the rescue.
“The DEP was only three feet away from the Peace Tower, so I was a bit nervous about that! I got into position but still had plenty of time to think about what could happen, as I waited for the first responders to safely move the injured guy from where he had fallen and get him secured before I could lift them all out.
“I just went slow and steady and brought the DEP up a bit higher than usual as the wind can pick up off the river and I didn’t want to scare the guys by having it swinging around.”
An impressed Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson labelled Brother Hamilton’s skills as “amazing” and reported the injured worker was in stable condition before being taken to the hospital.
Another tough job completed by a member of Local 793!
