A homeless man who fell 300 feet down a manhole was rescued in Anaheim

A homeless man had to be rescued from a manhole earlier this week, according to the Anaheim City Fire and Rescue Department.

Anaheim USAR 2 and Anaheim Truck 2, Battalion 2, and HAZMAT 6 responded to a confined space rescue at Lincoln Ave. and the 5 Fwy., successfully rescuing a homeless man who somehow got stuck 300 feet down inside a manhole that was only 26 inches in diameter.

The firefighters’ ongoing training, quick response, and coordinated efforts were instrumental in saving the victim’s life.

The City of Anaheim is home to a firefigher training center where students learn not just to fight fires but also how to do confined space rescues.

Art Pedroza Editor
Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.
Art Pedroza

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

View Comments

  • 300 feet verticle or is a lot of that horizontal? Where is there even a pipe that is 300 feet below grade?

  • Hey Anonymous, my thoughts exactly. Hey Editor, that has to be a typo; more likely 30 feet; then again, I doubt you’re the this article’s editor. Anaheim, and few municipalities, have 300’ deep infrastructure with manhole ingress/egress points. And certainly not located on City sidewalks. The image of rescue team is set up for a 30’ deep extraction; that equipment will not allow nor accomplish a 300’ deep recovery. Far different operation when dealing with a 300’ confined space operation.

      • Makes sense; it’s likely the source misspoke. Glad the rescue was a success. Thx

        A word to Anaheim: secure the manhole covers before communities move underground. Their accumulated debris alone will obstruct storm water flow passage. The flooding intrusion will be quite a challenge to mitigate.

        Thx again; keep the news coming.

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