Trapped 130-Foot Sign Electrician Records Farewell Message, Rescued After Hours
An electrician in the United States was rescued on July 23 after being trapped for several hours inside a 130-foot-tall commercial sign in Wilmington, Illinois, a town located about 80 kilometres southwest of Chicago. The worker, identified by local media as AJ Gow, had climbed into the hollow structure of the sign, which is part of a commercial station, to perform routine electrical repairs. During the job, his lift malfunctioned, leaving him stranded at the top of the structure. The incident occurred during a summer day when temperatures were high, adding to the urgency of the situation.
According to a report by the New York Post, Gow quickly realised that the situation could be life-threatening. With no air circulation inside the sign and the temperature rising, he feared that he might not make it out alive. In that state of distress, he pulled out his mobile phone and recorded emotional messages for his wife and children, thinking that they might be his final words.
"In the moment, it was getting hairy. I mean I was getting — I was genuinely getting scared, and I didn't know what was going to happen," Gow told ABC 7 Chicago. "God forbid if something were to actually happen — it was my final words. So essentially a goodbye without saying goodbye."
Recounting the incident, Gow said the heat inside the sign made the situation worse. "It was a hot day. There was really no air, so I sent my co-worker down. I said, 'Go get me some water and my battery-powered fan.' He went down, and on his way back up the lift had an issue and could not make it back," he added. He described the moment he realised he was truly trapped, saying that the lift did not respond and he had no other way to descend.
As his condition deteriorated, Gow instructed his co-worker to call emergency services. "Eventually I started to feel like crap. And I told [my co-worker], you know, call EMS. I said, I don't care what you have to do, get me down," he recalled. He said he began to feel unwell due to the heat and lack of air, and he was concerned about losing consciousness.
The local fire department and rescue technicians arrived at the scene with specialised equipment designed for high-angle rescues. The team had to carefully navigate the extreme height of 130 feet while dealing with structural safety concerns to reach the interior of the sign. The operation was complex, and responders had to take precautions to ensure the safety of both the trapped electrician and the rescue personnel. According to the report, the rescuers had to work around the sign's framework and lighting components to get to Gow. After hours of intense effort, they successfully reached him, secured him in a harness, and safely lowered him to the ground.
Following the rescue, Gow was evaluated by medical personnel on-site. He did not require hospitalisation, and no serious injuries were reported. Speaking about the ordeal later, he expressed surprise at the amount of public attention the incident attracted. "I was not prepared for it to get as much traction as it did. I had no idea that I was going to be stuck up here for that long, or was going to be anywhere near that kind of scenario," he said.
The incident highlights the potential dangers of maintenance work on tall structures and the importance of reliable equipment and safety protocols. While the exact cause of the lift malfunction has not been disclosed, the rescue effort demonstrated the critical role of emergency services in responding to such emergencies. The story, first reported by the New York Post and later covered by ABC 7 Chicago, drew significant public attention online.
