A Key Largo volunteer firefighter who tried to rescue three road workers trapped underground Monday remains hospitalized in Miami – with some reports he is fighting for his life.
Volunteer Fire Department Chief Don Bock told The Miami Herald there was no update on Leonardo Moreno's condition Tuesday, while a GoFundMe page set up by the eight year veteran’s family says he is in critical condition at Ryder Trauma Center in the ICU.
Officials say Moreno was among several people who tried to help four men who were affected by fumes inside a drainage hole at a construction site. Three workers – 34 year old Elway Gray of Fort Lauderdale, 49 year old Louis O’Keefe of Little Torch Key and 24 year old Robert Wilson of Summerland Key – were killed in the incident, while a fourth was treated at the scene along with several others who responded to help.
“Elway was a good guy and this was such a tragic accident,” said Amber Wynn, the niece of Gray’s one year old daughter. “His life ended too soon…He should still be here. It’s not fair. None of those men should have been taken so soon."
Sheriff Rick Ramsay told reporters the firefighter had thought the hole was too small for his breathing apparatus, while authorities believe the men inside the hole inhaled a poisonous mixture of methane gas and hydrogen sulfide. Ramsey also said drainage holes typically are designed to vent gases, but this one wasn't vented.
