Eric Fink, a reporter at Colorado Springs ABC affiliate KRDO remains hospitalized this morning after suffering severe frostbite Saturday night. Fink had been attempting to do a one-man-band late news liveshot, but had problems connecting his camera to the backpack.
According to the insider, Fink told producers at the station he could not resolve the issue without taking his gloves off, but was concerned about exposing his hands to the cold and wind.
The temperature in the Colorado Springs area never got above freezing Saturday, and the low that night was 11 degrees. Another KRDO reporter tweeted a photo of Fink receiving treatment at the hospital, where he is expected to recover:
How cold is it? Reporter @E_FINKSTER has frostbite on both hands after working in Falcon. pic.twitter.com/CmeNY4jxdl
— Jonathan Petramala (@jpetramala) January 4, 2015
The station–which recently reported on the risks of frostbite from sub-freezing weather–has been criticized by reporters, according to the source, over a lack of safety training regarding extreme weather. “No one was surprised that something bad was going to happen during spot news or weather, we’d just hoped it wouldn’t lead to someone potentially losing fingers as a result.”
We’ve reached out to KRDO’s news director for comment, and will update the story if we hear back.