This could have come right out of a script for "Emergency!"— or "Rescue 8," the 1950s show starring Jim Davis that gave birth to a TV genre. Yesterday at a high-rise construction site in Century City, a crane operator 310 feet in the air reported chest discomfort. To get him out, the fire department called in seven companies of firefighters, five rescue ambulances, two urban search and rescue task forces, two helicopters, one EMS Battalion Captain, two Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and one Division Chief Officer Command Team. Paramedics who climbed up to the man realized they couldn't take him down, so they took him up. Brian Humphrey fills in the tale at the LAFD blog, with links to video at channels 2 and 7.

Jim Davis as Jock Ewing in "Dallas," from TVAcres.com.