Person rushed to hospital after industrial accident in Conover

CONOVER, N.C. — The Conover Fire Department said a person was rushed to the hospital after an industrial accident Wednesday afternoon.

It happened at the Elite Comfort facility on Farrington Street.

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Officials said they arrived and found someone pinned in a machine that compresses foam. Firefighters were able to free the person after 45 minutes.

Firefighters said it took teamwork to free the employee.

“To get that roller out and get him out, we had to remove the roller,” said Chris Hicks, Conover Fire Department. “We had to go at a slow-and-easy pace, where we didn’t cause any further trauma to the patient.”

Officials said the victim was airlifted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The company makes foam for beds, furniture and cars.

Firefighters said they recently responded to a fire at the plant where some foam caught on fire.

There are no local OSHA issues, but there’s an open case in Georgia, and the company was fined in California in 2017.

No other details have been released.

Cox Media Group