25 firefighters spend 2+ hours digging man out of compacted garbage truck load
San Francisco firefighters conducted a complex two-hour rescue operation to save a man trapped inside a compacted garbage truck. The victim was discovered after a bystander heard screams, and he was subsequently transported to a hospital in serious condition.
Why it matters
It serves as a human-interest story highlighting emergency response capabilities and urban safety hazards.
A routine garbage collection in San Francisco turned into a desperate rescue early Wednesday after a bystander heard screams coming from inside a garbage truck. The San Francisco Fire Department responded at about 4:11 a.m. on September 2, after the passerby alerted the Recology driver that someone appeared to be yelling from the vehicle. By then, the truck's load had already been compacted, leaving a man trapped beneath a large amount of garbage. According to PEOPLE and FOX 32 Chicago, around 25 firefighters spent more than two hours carefully removing the waste by hand to reach him. The man remained conscious and communicative during the rescue and was eventually taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in serious condition.Screams trigger emergency responseThe incident unfolded on Mason Street near San Francisco's Union Square, close to the Powell BART station.
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