ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A welder working on the new Metropolitan Volvo building in Orange County took a 15-foot fall Friday. The 42-year-old victim was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment and tests after falling.

---

SLIDESHOW: Construction Worker Rescued After Falling Down Concrete Shaft

---

Firefighters had to use ropes and a harness to hoist him out of a very tight spot. But what was a routine rescue for Orange County firefighters amounted to one heck of a fall for the welder trapped at the bottom of a hollow concrete column.

One minute, he was on the roof of the building under construction along Orange Blossom Trail and Caroni Drive in Orange County. The next moment, he was gone, having slipped from a ladder.

A co-worker who took a closer look spotted him 15 feet down, trapped at the bottom of a vertical tunnel. Firefighters would have to lift him out.

Battalion Chief Bill Moran oversaw the rescue.

"If someone had not seen him, he could've been there a lot longer. He could've been there a lot longer," Moran said.

The tunnel in Friday's rescue was just about 6 feet across. The welder and two firefighters were squeezed into the tight space so they could brace him for the trip out of the tunnel.

The man was said to be conscious during the entire rescue, but it was obvious he was still beaten from the fall.

Orange County said any investigation on the scene will be left to federal agents who are responsible for occupational safety.