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A man’s attempt to retrieve his sunglasses from a campsite toilet took a disastrous turn after he fell into the holding tank below and had to undergo a “decontamination process” once he was rescued.
According to a Facebook post from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to Camp Edison at Shaver Lake at around 2:15 pm on Saturday, June 20, after receiving reports that someone inside a restroom was calling for help.
Officials said the man had become trapped inside the holding tank of a vault toilet, which they described as “a facility with no plumbing, so it essentially operates like a porta potty.”
Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters responded to the scene, with a translator also being brought in because the man only spoke Spanish, and they realized the man had dropped his sunglasses into the toilet and tried to retrieve them.
Officers rescued man after falling several feet into toilet tank
“It was determined the man dropped his sunglasses inside the toilet, into the chemical solution,” the post explained. “In an attempt to retrieve them, the man fell several feet into the hole and began yelling for help.”
After spending “close to 15 minutes” inside the tank, emergency crews were able to pull him to safety. However, the rescue wasn’t quite over.
“Due to his exposure to urine, fecal matter and chemicals, he was put through a decontamination process,” the Sheriff’s Office continued. “He was then able to walk away otherwise unharmed.”
The unusual rescue also prompted a warning from officials, who urged people not to reach inside vault toilets, even if they accidentally drop something valuable, as it’s “nearly impossible.”
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“As for safety tips, never try and reach inside a tank of a vault toilet. If you drop something inside, consider it a loss,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote. “Always secure or remove valuables (phone, wallet, jewelry, etc.) before getting close to the hole of one of these toilets.”
The post added that the deep design of vault toilets can make it for someone to rescue themselves if they fall inside, warning that the combination of the enclosure and exposure to chemicals “can ultimately turn fatal.”
This isn’t the only time that people or animals have been stuck in unusual places, as riders were left suspended 360 feet in the air when a theme park ride malfunctioned and a bear had to be saved from a stove pipe.
