Firefighters rescue injured worker by rappelling him off 5-story building in Southfield

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Southfield Fire Department made a daring rescue Thursday after a worker was injured on the top of a five-story building.

"I've trained for 16 years for it, but it's the first time I've been on duty when we've had one," said Lt. Zach McKee. "Every day is different."

The worker was hanging banners on top of the office space near Northwestern and Evergreen when he fell off a ladder.

"There wasn't a door for us to go into to go down the elevator. There was a door going out, a ladder going up, had to walk across the top roof to another ladder going down," firefighter Nate Herr said.

So, firefighters had to rappel the man off the building.

"I was just trying to keep him joking a little bit and keep him relaxed. Made fun of his Lakers hat for a minute, told him this was Pistons country," McKee said.

The man was taken to a hospital and will be OK.

Herr and McKee were the ones who went into the Oakland Hills Country Club to save irreplaceable golf trophies after a fire earlier this year. This time, the rescue involved even more precious cargo.

"It's not a 160-pound rescue dummy," McKee said.