Uploaded September 2017 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
In this film clip, crane operator Iver Simms, a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 926 in Atlanta receives an award from Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman for his courage in an April 1999 fire. This clip is from OSHA’s 1999 Worker Memorial Day press event on April 28. Mr. Simms was working on a historical renovation project of the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill in East Atlanta. The five-story mill was built in the late1800s and was being converted into residential loft apartments. He was working atop the crane when fire erupted on the construction site 220 feet beneath him. Sims said his first concern was for the people working on the building below. He tried to help contain the blaze. By the time he realized the fire was out of control, he said, it was too late to come down to safety. Sims was trapped on top of a swaying, 250-foot crane above the raging fire for more than an hour. He was forced to escape from his cabin after it was engulfed by flames stretching high into the sky. After crawling to the concrete counter-weight at the end of the crane’s horizontal arm to get away from the black smoke and flames, he lay on his stomach, waiting to be rescued. He was eventually snatched to safety by a firefighter dangling from a helicopter cable. His rescue was national news, for more details, read craneaccidents.com/1999/04/report/rescue-from-towering-inferno . The entire video of this press event is posted to my YouTube channel. The video is from the US National Archive film collection in College Park, Maryland.
In this film clip, crane operator Iver Simms, a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 926 in Atlanta receives an award from Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman for his courage in an April 1999 fire. This clip is from OSHA’s 1999 Worker Memorial Day press event on April 28. Mr. Simms was working on a historical renovation project of the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill in East Atlanta. The five-story mill was built in the late1800s and was being converted into residential loft apartments. He was working atop the crane when fire erupted on the construction site 220 feet beneath him. Sims said his first concern was for the people working on the building below. He tried to help contain the blaze. By the time he realized the fire was out of control, he said, it was too late to come down to safety. Sims was trapped on top of a swaying, 250-foot crane above the raging fire for more than an hour. He was forced to escape from his cabin after it was engulfed by flames stretching high into the sky. After crawling to the concrete counter-weight at the end of the crane’s horizontal arm to get away from the black smoke and flames, he lay on his stomach, waiting to be rescued. He was eventually snatched to safety by a firefighter dangling from a helicopter cable. His rescue was national news, for more details, read craneaccidents.com/1999/04/report/rescue-from-towering-inferno . The entire video of this press event is posted to my YouTube channel. The video is from the US National Archive film collection in College Park, Maryland.
