A Twentynine Palms man spent a cold and wet night in a septic tank before he was rescued by fire fighters Saturday morning. According to Fire Captain Robert Marquez, the elderly man, who was not identified, was walking around his property in the 2400 block of Lear Avenue about 7 p.m. Friday when he slipped into an open septic tank pit and fell about 10 feet to the bottom of the pit. Marquez said there was about two feet of sludge in the septic tank. Neighbors became concerned when they weren’t able to contact the man Friday evening, and so they went to his home Saturday morning. After an extensive search of his property, they discovered his cane next to the opening of the septic tank, with him sitting at the bottom of the pit. Twentynine Palms fire fighters were called to the scene about 7:30 Saturday morning.
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Fire fighters determined the best way to rescue the man was by using a tripod hoist over the pit, but since the Twentynine Palms’ hoist was on a fire truck at the closed Lear Avenue Station, they called fire fighters from the Combat Center—who had a hoist—for assistance. A ladder was placed in the pit, and a strap was lowered into the pit from the hoist; the man was able to climb out of the pit with help from the hoist. He was then taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center with a mild case of hypothermia and some minor injuries from the fall. Fire fighters remind residents that open pits and trenches can be dangerous, and should be flagged or blocked to keep people away.
