A Virginia man was hospitalized after becoming trapped under a massive gun safe, the Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department said.

Firefighters said the man had been trying to unload the safe on March 9 when he fell and got pinned under it. Firefighters estimated the safe weighed 2,000 pounds.

During the rescue, crews used airbags to stabilize the safe and free the man. He was then immediately airlifted to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.



(Photo courtesy: Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department)
“This was an unusual call for service and is one that most would never think about having to overcome,” the department said on Facebook. They said the call exemplified the dedication and readiness of the volunteer team.

Firefighters didn’t give an update on the man’s condition.

Large safes can tip over if they have heavy doors, which when open shift the balance of the weight forward, and cause them to fall.

Rainier Ballistics suggests mounting gun safes to a wall stud or to the floor to prevent them from tipping over.

On average, 62 people are taken to the emergency room due to furniture tip-over incidents, data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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LINK: https://wgntv.com/news/man-res...der-2000-pound-safe/
Pictures at link

quote:

Large safes can tip over if they have heavy doors, which when open shift the balance of the weight forward, and cause them to fall.

Rainier Ballistics suggests mounting gun safes to a wall stud or to the floor to prevent them from tipping over.

On average, 62 people are taken to the emergency room due to furniture tip-over incidents, data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Based on this part of the article and the pictures in the link, the author has no clue what happened. The author misunderstood what the fire department meant when they said “the man had been trying to unload the safe”. The safe didn’t fall over because the door was open while the owner was removing the safe’s contents. The pictures show the door closed and what appears to be a load ramp/lift thing on a box truck. The safe fell on him while he was taking taking it out of the box truck.

Yet another example of an easy story they can not get right that makes me wonder how much they get wrong with the complicated stories.

I was almost that guy, because I was impatient.

About 2009ish, I had a new moderately large safe delivered to the house. It was a freight delivery, which means they only delivered to the end of the driveway. I had a buddy who was planning to come over and help me with the heavy lifting in a couple tricky areas.

I got it unpacked, and loaded from the pallet onto a big dolly, then decided to move it up the driveway and sidewalk closer to the front door to get into position for my buddy to help when he got there. Then once I got to the front door, I decided it didn't seem that heavy, and I'd see if I could just get it inside by myself. This involved a large step-up transition from the front walkway onto the front concrete patio, which was the primary reason why I had enlisted the friend's help in the first place.

Right then, my guardian angel intervened, because I decided I needed to pee. So I went inside to do so, and as I was coming back out, I happened to close the front door, which had previously been hanging open the whole time.

Without waiting for my buddy, I then stupidly tried to Incredible Hulk the dolly with the safe on it up over that transition, while standing on the front patio. Straining with all my might, I managed to do it, and as the safe and dolly came up over the edge of the lip, the sudden release of resistance sent me and the safe rocketing backwards. As I stumbled and sprawled rearwards, I recall thinking: "Man, this is a shitty way to die, crushed by a safe..."

I slammed into the recently closed front door, and the safe and dolly slammed into me. It hurt, but didn't do any permanent damage, and I managed to remain upright thanks to the closed door. Had the door been open like it was the whole time before I decided to take a pee break before making my stupid attempt, I would have tripped on the raised door sill, ended up on my back on the ground in the open doorway, and the safe would have ended up on top of me.

Someone in the universe was looking out for me that day, and I managed to avoid becoming the recipient of a Darwin Award.

Geez, that was dumb. I could have easily just waited the 20 minutes for my buddy to show up.

Glad you are OK. If you are lucky enough to survive you obtain patience. I will have to ask my firefighter brother about large objects and people. I am certain he has some stories.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
On average, 62 people are taken to the emergency room due to furniture tip-over incidents, data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

My favorite among these: vending machines. What a way to die. Tipping a vending machine on to yourself because it took your buck seventy-five.

One of the senior guys at Magpul had a gun safe land on his leg during a move. Shattered into multiple pieces, took nearly a year of various surgeries to put him back together. Bought himself a tracked-wheel chair, like a tank, to roll around in.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:


Yet another example of an easy story they can not get right that makes me wonder how much they get wrong with the complicated stories.

The media is so biased they can't get much right. Just for fun find a story you have personal knowledge of. They almost never get the whole thing right. Too much trouble, or it doesn't fit their bias. I sometimes watch the local media, but going in, I realize they're not going to get it right, or how it really happened. Just too much trouble. Its mostly a joke.

My safe won't fall on me. Its got 6" concrete walls, all tied together. The door is bolted securely to those walls. By me, using too many bolts and anchors.

I was almost that guy. I moved a rather large safe by myself with a refrigerator dolly. I recall getting it too far from the balance point and having it go too far my way. I pushed all of my 165 pounds to counter it and thankfully was successful. Funny how the mind works. Just a few years prior, my agency sent me to the Coroner class, where they taught us about crushing injuries. They showed us pictures of a poor guy that was in a hole he dug around a rather large stump he was trying to remove from his front yard, chopping roots to free it. Well the last root he chopped freed the stump, but he was under the stump and guess what? DRT. As that safe was falling back on me, I thought I was gonna be parted out on the same coroner table that that stump guy was. I never want to be in that situation again.

This old 1980s „don’t rock vending machines“ commercial from AFN Europe just popped in to my mind



They used to broadcast quite a variety of safety recommendations for service members stationed in Europe.

Another one discussing resulting injuries.

This happens whenever SAFETY is not Third! Or Fourth. Even Fifth!! (Misquoting Mike Rowe)

I’m good at moving large things. Car engines, transmissions, stationary tools, awkward, big, heavy things.

I call the experts when it come to gun safes and pianos. I no longer move these items. I nearly gave three other dudes a hernia each moving a piano up five steps. I also nearly ended up a splotch when a 700 lb safe snapped both of. the straps we were using to slide it down the stairs.

Call the experts.

Looks like he did two things blatantly wrong.

First, it appears that the door was on the downhill side of the liftgate. The door side is the heavy side, so it should have been uphill.

Secondly, it appears that he has added wheels to the bottom of the safe. In a normal scenario that front bottom edge is your leverage point. By adding wheels, that leverage point has now moved rearward. Although a few inches doesn't seem like much, it is more than most people think. Combine that with him having it facing the wrong way, and there you go.

I teach my guys the Kenny Rogers method:

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away and know when to run.

quote:

Call the experts.

We now live in a world where everybody is an expert. Make sure when you call them you do your due diligence to make sure they actually are what they claim to be.

So many people running around uninsured (which means you're their insurance when they get injured on your property), personally owned (not commercially insured) vehicles, using tools and techniques that violate all sorts of OSHA regulations, etc.