SEE IT: Man Trapped 130 Feet In The Air In Gas Station Sign

An Illinois maintenance worker was trapped inside a gas station sign 130 feet in the air for over six hours on Tuesday.

AJ Gow was doing repair work on a gas station sign near Interstate 55 right before 11:00 a.m. when his telescopic boom lift malfunctioned, leaving him 13 stories in the air.

At around 2:00 p.m., the Wilmington Fire Protection District received a call about the stranded man. Its Technical Rescue Team, “specializing in confined space, collapse, and high angle rescue,” was sent to help. 

The fire crew soon realized that their 100-foot ladders were not long enough to help Gow.

“No ladders or stairs built into the sign pole were present eliminating the possibility of rescue team personnel ascending to the victim’s location as would normally occur in a high angle rescue,” the Wilmington Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Todd Friddle said. “The victim’s location was also beyond fire department ladder truck capabilities.”

The Wilmington fire department found a boom lift in a town around 17 miles away that could ascend the distance and wheeled it to the site.

In the meantime, an aerial drone monitored the man, who gave an optimistic thumbs-up.

At around 4:00 p.m., the maintenance worker was lifted down and “returned to safety with no victim or rescuer injuries,” the report concluded.

Gow thanked local officials for their help in saving him.

“Thank you to every department that showed up for me today,” the maintenance worker posted on Facebook. “It was greatly appreciated! Seeing that lift roll up with police escorts was the highlight of my day for sure!!”

Gow also posted a photo of himself standing inside the sign in the comments of one of his posts, telling one of his friends, “I was up there on this. [I] couldn’t fully stand either and it kept swaying with the wind. It was miserable.”

Besides feeling severe dehydration and anxiety, Gow stated that he is fine.

“My adrenaline was pumping once I saw that lift arriving and [it] gave me a 2nd wind. After the adrenaline crash, I felt like crap all night and still do.”