Co-Workers Rescue Man From Vat Of Acid

While initial headlines that said a man jumped into a vat of acid to rescue a co-worker at at New Jersey construction site may have overstated what happened just a bit, there's still a dramatic tale to tell.

According to NewJersey.com:

"In what fire officials described as an act of bravery [on Monday], four roofers rescued a co-worker who had fallen through a factory roof in Clifton and dropped 40 feet into a tank of acid."

Martin Davis, 44, was fully submerged in a tank "filled with a 40 percent to 70 percent solution of nitric acid used in cleaning metal tubing," when his buddies rushed to his aid, the website says. They managed to pull him out.

Davis has "a broken rib, punctured lung and burns on his legs and side." His rescuers suffered a variety of burns and other minor injuries.

Clifton Fire Chief Vincent Colavitti Jr. said it took "a lot of courage" to reach into the acid.

NewJersey.com adds that:

"John Davis, who like his brother works in construction, said he knew why co-workers rushed to save [Martin Davis]. It is an ethics code in the business, he said. 'In our trade we stick together. It's a serious business. You'll die out there. You've got your family to feed and you have got to protect each other,' he said."

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.