New London – The fire department used special air bags to lift a pickup truck up after it collapsed on a man working on the vehicle this afternoon.

Battalion Chief Marc A. Melanson said the department responded to Granite Street after the 1 p.m. call. The truck had fallen on the man’s leg, Melanson said, and he was wedged between it and a “derelict boat” which made access difficult for firefighters. Using hard rubber air bags that went under the truck flat and are inflated with compressed air, the firefighters were able to lift the truck and slide the injured man out on a board, Melanson said.

Conscious and alert, the man was taken to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital for treatment on his leg injury, Melanson said.