35-year-old man falls from Magherafelt rooftop sparking huge rescue operation

It is understood the 35-year-old maintenance man was cleaning windows on the roof of a private residence on the Castledawson Road when he fell on to a flat roof below.

Firefighters from Magherafelt, Ballymena and Belfast rushed to the scene along with paramedics from Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

Colin Dickson, Assistant Area Commander for the Northern Ireland Fire & Service, told the Mail: “Late on Tuesday afternoon a gent fell from a roof in Magherafelt. He was on the top of the building... he fell four metres on to a flat roof.

“He was significantly injured and we were called to rescue him.”

It is unclear whether the man was unconscious as a result of his fall, but Colin said paramedics decided that he would need to be removed on a stretcher.

And as a result, NIFRS called for support from the Specialist Rescue Team, who brought a vema (crane) with them.

Commending the cohesion between paramedics and fire crews, Colin added: “He was removed on a basket stretcher with the crane and then taken to hospital. Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was assisting the whole time.”

Asked whether the rescue was a difficult, he added: “Yes. It was difficult access. The house had court yards and trees and it took quite a while.”

A message on NIFRS’s Facebook page said: “Specialist Rescue Team were deployed to Magherafelt to assist NIFRS North along with Hazardous Awareness Response Team from NI Ambulance Service to rescue a male casualty from a flat roof.

“Great example of partnership working. ‪#‎notjustfires”‬