By Corey Friedman
The Wilson Daily Times
WILSON, N.C. — Wilson Medical Center isn’t saying why a man jumped from a hospital window and landed on the first-floor roof Wednesday night.
Hospital spokeswoman Connie Rhem said she couldn’t release any information Thursday. Wilson firefighters rescued the man from the 20-foot roof and lowered him to the ground safely.
WilMed has not said whether the man was a patient or visitor.
Firefighters were called to the hospital at 9:21 p.m. after receiving reports of a man on the hospital’s lobby roof. Seven firefighters and one paramedic used a 35-foot ladder to scale the building and lower the man to the ground after a medical evaluation.
“The rescue went very well,” Battalion Cmdr. David Aycock of Wilson Fire and Rescue Services said at the scene Wednesday. “I’m pleased with our guys. That’s what they train for.”
Aycock said the man had jumped out of a window at the hospital and landed on the entrance building roof. Firefighters didn’t know how many stories the man fell, but they said he was not seriously hurt and sustained only cuts and bruises.
After evaluating the man’s condition, firefighters strapped him to a Stokes basket, a metal wire frame used in search and rescue, and brought him down the ladder.
“All our guys are trained in rescue,” Aycock said. “We’re trained how to package the patient and that’s what we did. We packaged him in a Stokes basket and lowered him to the ground.”
Aycock said the man was conscious and spoke to the firefighters who scaled the roof.
Police cordoned off the area in front of the hospital with crime scene tape while firefighters attended to the man. Onlookers snapped pictures of the rescue effort with cellphones and digital cameras.
A fire truck with a mounted 109-foot ladder was parked near the hospital entrance. Aycock said fire crews were prepared to rescue someone from the six-story building’s top floor if necessary.
Hospital officials wouldn’t say Thursday whether the window jump and rooftop rescue will lead to any changes at the facility.