Universal Wilde Press Operator Rescued from Waste Paper Collection Silo
SOMERVILLE, MA—April 9, 2012—In what has been characterized as a life-threatening incident last Thursday night, local fire officials had to cut two holes in a waste paper collection silo at Universal Wilde in order to free a worker who had become trapped under a crushing pile of paper. The press operator, identified in news accounts as Carlos Barboza or Barbosa, reportedly had climbed into the silo to clear a paper jam.
Universal Wilde promotes itself as being a full-service marketing communications partner offering integrated print, mailing, fulfillment and distribution services.
According to The Boston Globe, “When firefighters tried to get to Barboza from the bottom of the silo, he told them through a cellphone that their efforts were only worsening conditions, Deputy Fire Chief Robert Lyons said. It took rescuers about 45 minutes to reach Barboza.
“Upon arrival, our incident commander was informed that the individual entered the bottom of the silo to clear a paper jam,” the fire chief said. “He entered at the bottom, went to release the paper jam, and when he did, the paper fell down upon him, trapping him there.”
In a story update this morning, the SomervillePatch reported that, “Carlos Barbosa, the 47-year-old man who was rescued from a silo packed tight with shredded paper on April 5, has a few ‘bumps and bruises’ but is doing ‘perfectly fine,’ according to Steve Duffy, director of Human Resources at Universal Wilde.
“He’s fine. We’re glad that he’s fine. We’re very pleased with the police and fire departments of Somerville, and we’re looking forward to having him come back to work this week,” Duffy said.