A crane operator experiencing a medical emergency more than 200 feet in the air was safely rescued Wednesday night after a nearly two-hour operation by the Fort Worth Fire Department’s specialized rescue team.

Fire officials said crews were called around 7:30 p.m. to a construction site in the 1300 block of South Main Street, above a parking garage near John Peter Smith Hospital. The worker was inside a crane cab roughly 220 feet, or about 20 stories, above the ground.

“It was after dinner, we just cleaned up and the station was having a little social time. We see that it’s a medical call but 200 feet in the air on a crane. So we’re like, OK, this is going to be us!” said Lt. Brian Call with the Fort Worth Fire Department.

The Tactical Rescue Team, which regularly trains for emergencies involving tall structures like cranes, bridges and high-rises, has teams spread out at stations throughout the city. The crew at Fire Station 2 was the closest to the crane, so they quickly jumped into action, with the help of other nearby stations.

“We have extensive training across the department in all kinds of different specialties. At this station in particular, we have hazmat training and we also have technical rescue training, which incorporates ropes, structural collapse training, and confined space training,” explained Morgan Hix, a Fort Worth Fire Department engineer and one of the members who climbed up the crane.

First responders reached the operator quickly and began providing medical care, but it soon became clear he could not descend the crane ladder on his own because of his condition. Those who braved the ascent said the adrenaline rush of the situation kept them focused.

“I have a healthy respect for heights. I wouldn’t say I’m scared of heights, but just like anybody, it’s respect,” said firefighter Monty Bryant.

The group that made the climb set up a system to safely lower the man. They secured the patient and brought him down carefully to the top of the parking garage below, where a ground crew was coordinating closely with those working high above.

“A rescue like this is such a collaborative effort; it’s not the four people that are in the bucket,” said Hix. “There are a ton of people in the ground. They were helping us coordinate, running things by bouncing ideas off each other up top, as well as we try to get this done in the most effective way possible.”

The rescue was completed at about 9:24 p.m., roughly 1 hour and 52 minutes after crews first arrived. The crane operator was then transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital and is expected to be OK, officials said. No firefighters were injured.

Firefighter Rick Aguilar says the urgency of the situation outweighs any fear.

“That’s something I don’t really think about. Let me get to the patient, let me figure out what’s going on and then go from there, that stuff really doesn’t kind of phase me,” Aguilar said. “The job is gotta get done, what do we gotta do?”

Call said confidence in the team’s training played a critical role in the outcome.

“We’re waiting, we’re looking and completely confident in the skills and abilities of the crew,” he said. “We train all the time so we know that everyone there… is going to be ready to do what’s needed.”

Fire officials noted that while dramatic, the rescue reflects the wide range of calls firefighters handle beyond fighting fires.

“We’re here to serve this community, this is our job – and I think this particular instance is more glamorous than others,” Hix said. “But there are people out there doing the same job today and there are people who are gonna do it tomorrow, and we’re gonna come back and do it every single time we are asked to.”