It took Kirkland firefighters almost an hour to rescue a painter who fell at least 30 feet down a well and seriously injured himself while working at the new Juanita Bay Pump Station on June 27.

The man, whose identity was not released, suffered a cut to the back of the head, bruises to his ribs and possible internal bleeding, but no life-threatening injuries the Kirkland Fire Department said. He was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The man was apparently painting a stairwell shaft at the new wastewater pump station being built at 9300 N.E. Juanita Drive when he fell around 9:45 a.m.

Another worker two levels down witnessed the event and said scaffolding surrounding the inside of the structure helped break the man’s fall.

Upon arrival, emergency crews discovered the atmosphere within the structure was unsafe for unprotected entry and had to be improved. While some crews went immediately to the man by wearing breathing apparatus, others worked to improve the atmosphere within the well by using an exhaust tube attached to a fan.

Firefighters extricated the man by using a basket to pull him up and out of the well.