On December 14 2018 Riverhead Ambulance was dispatched to a report of a trench collapse. Upon arrival, members discovered that while installing a cesspool the loose soil gave way trapping one man approximately 20 feet below grade.

Units from Riverhead Fire Department, Hampton Bays Fire Department, Hagerman Fire Department, Selden Fire Department, Brookhaven National Lab Fire Department and Suffolk County Police Emergency Services worked tirelessly to free the trapped individual.

While rescuers worked to stabilize the trench and remove sand by hand, medical teams treated the patient in place to minimize and further harm.

After the patient was successfully removed from the trench, he was air lifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center with non life threatening injuries.