A construction worker was rescued after falling approximately 30 feet down a manhole at a northwest Calgary construction site Friday morning, according to the Calgary Fire Department.
Firefighters responded at approximately 8:40 a.m. on October 23 to the 8000 block of 34 Avenue N.W., where they found a worker inside the confined space.
Technical rescue team uses rope system
Calgary Fire says crews used air-monitoring equipment to safely enter the manhole, reach the worker and begin medical care. Firefighters stabilized the patient while preparing for the extraction.
The department's Technical Rescue Team established a rope system to lift the worker from the manhole. Once the patient had been stabilized and secured for transport, crews successfully removed them from the confined space.
Patient taken to hospital in stable condition
The Calgary Fire Department says care was transferred to Alberta Health Services after the rescue. The worker was transported to hospital in stable condition.
Calgary Police Service officers also attended to assist. Because the incident involved a workplace injury, Occupational Health and Safety was notified and was on its way to investigate when the Fire Department issued its release.
The department did not identify the worker or establish what caused the fall. Investigative findings have not been released.
Construction underway along 34 Avenue
The 8000 block of 34 Avenue N.W. is along the corridor where the City of Calgary has been installing the Stage B replacement for the Bearspaw South Feeder Main. The City's project information describes open-cut construction along 34 Avenue between 73 and 89 streets N.W.
The Fire Department's incident release identifies the location as a construction site but does not itself name the Bearspaw replacement project. It also does not report a new failure of the existing feeder main.
Original source: Calgary Fire Department, October 23, 2026 — Confined Space Rescue in the NW.
Project background: City of Calgary — Bearspaw South Feeder Main replacement.