the well above his head, yes, there's a risk. and that was one of our main concerns is vibration of the ground around the opening. they shut off all traffic, stopped all traffic within 500 feet. >> my role as a rescue was to help with the shoring and the trench. and my job was also to be one of the diggers down at the bottom that actually dug across from the trench over to the well where little jesse was. >> as the operation approaches its fifth hour, 17-month-old baby jesse seems to be hanging in there, but the question everyone is asking, how much longer can he last? >> my only thought was, he's getting tired. i was worried about him maybe giving up. and i was talking to him, you know, comforting him as well as myself. >> firefighter tim daneen is working with other rescuers in 15-minute intervals. they've made it down 20 feet safely and are cutting across when it's tim's turn to dig again. he's finally close enough to