Worker flown to trauma center after getting trapped in machinery at Franklin County company

Amber South, Chambersburg Public Opinion
Updated ·2 min read

A worker at a Chambersburg manufacturing company was flown to a trauma center Monday after his legs became trapped in a machine with a conveyor belt, according to emergency responders.

EMS and fire personnel responded to the industrial incident at TB Wood's, 440 N. Fifth Ave., about 10:50 a.m., according to Bryan Stevenson, communications coordinator at Franklin County Emergency Management, the county's 911 call center.

The man's legs were struck between a rail car and a heavy-duty conveyor truck, according to Franklin Fire Co.

The worker was trapped for about an hour and a half until a "difficult extrication" freed him, the fire company said. The endeavor was complex, the fire department wrote in a Facebook post, and involved the use of an industrial cutting device, airbags, rams and other tools and processes.

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Chambersburg Fire Department Chief Dustin Ulrich described the apparatus that entrapped the worker as "conveyor machinery."

The worker was flown to WellSpan York Hospital Trauma Center, Ulrich said.

The scene was cleared by 1:41 p.m., the chief added.

Fire and EMS agencies from Pennsylvania and Maryland that responded to the scene include:

Chambersburg Fire & EMS; Franklin Fire Co.; Fayetteville Fire and EMS; Penn State Health Chambersburg Advanced Life Support; Marion EMS; West End Fire and Rescue; Pleasant Hall EMS; WellFlight 2-8 Air Medical; Wellspan Hospital Chambersburg staff; and Maryland State Police Trooper 1 (Air Medical) and the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (Baltimore) GO Team (Field Surgical Team).

The identity of the worker and the severity of their injuries has not yet been released.

Aren't the signs for TB Wood's bearing a different name?

Founded in 1867 as a manufacturer of wood-burning stoves, TB Wood's is today a global company that produces couplings, belted drives and other parts for power transmissions.

The TB Wood's branding was recently removed from the campus in the borough's north end due to its parent company being acquired by Regal Rexnard. TB Wood's became part of Altra Holding Inc. in 2007.

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Worker's legs get trapped in machine at TB Wood's in Chambersburg