Firefighters Called In To Rescue Woman Who Fell Headfirst Into Outhouse

One woman was in the shock of her life when she found herself stuck in an outhouse upside down.

According to The Press-Enterprise, a woman accidentally dropped her phone down a vault toilet. While she was trying to retrieve it, she fell in headfirst and got stuck for more than an hour before the fire department was finally called in to try to save her.

The publication reported that the incident happened on Tuesday afternoon, near the parking lot at the summit of Mount Walker. Mount Walker is a 2,800-foot mountain that is located at the east edge of Washington’s Olympic National Park.

The woman was not named in the article. All that was reported was that she was from California and she was in her 40s. She was trying to retrieve her cellphone, which had slipped from her hands and fallen into the toilet bowl. After her phone fell in, she decided to retrieve it by any means necessary. This required her to disassemble the toilet bowl and remove the seat so that she could lie down on the floor of the outhouse and lean into the hole. She reportedly was able to tie a dog leash to some support within the outhouse to help guide her into the hole.

However, the leash “failed” and she ended up sliding into the hole headfirst. After around twenty minutes of being unable to climb out herself, she was able to use her phone to call 911.

Rescue crews responded from both the Brinnon and Quilcene fire departments, which were both located about 10 miles away. The woman was apparently so far down the hole that they had to send her items that she could support herself on. Eventually, they were able to grab her and pull her out.

It should be noted that vault toilets in national parks usually have a pit that is at least five feet deep and can reportedly hold more than 500 gallons of human waste.

Fortunately, the woman suffered no physical injuries. The fire department washed her down and reportedly gave her a Tyvek suit to wear. Although the fire department encouraged her to seek medical attention (due to the human excrement that she was covered in), officials said that “she only wanted to leave.”

It is unclear if the woman ever did seek medical attention after the incident, but it was reported that she did thank the first responders for their service.

The Fire Chief shared the details of the rescue on their Facebook page, noting that “the patient was extremely fortunate not to be overcome by toxic gases or sustain injury.”

The post gained over 3,000 reactions, 1.5K comments, and over 4,000 shares as residents weighed in on the unfortunate incident.

“Oh my god I can’t imagine how it feels to be in that situation,” one user wrote. “I [would] rather be dead than [be] rescued, even if you [soaked] me in Clorox. I won’t be surprised if [she] accidentally swallowed some liquid…”

“The next time I complain about having a bad day, I am going to remember this story and realize my day isn’t that bad,” another ventured. “I am glad she was okay.”

“I seriously would have just [forgotten] about the phone, but she didn’t, so it would have been smart to get checked,” another commented. “I mean, everyone had seen she was full of it. I don’t think many people know how dangerous feces can be.”

“I'm glad she got out but especially going in headfirst she should [have gotten] checked out,” another wrote. “But probably hoping she'll make it home to California without any sickness. She was probably embarrassed and upset at what happened. Me, I probably would have tried getting my phone too. I wish her the best.”

Another user noted, “If she has any scratches or cuts recently that's not healed COMPLETELY she may get a very serious infection ... Plus if anything got into her airways at all even if it's very small she could get very sick. .. She really should've [gone] to get a tetanus shot & evaluated & put on antibiotics at least ...”

“That’s one vacation she’ll never forget,” another added. “Glad she’s safe.”

Many users wanted to know what her cellphone provider was to get service in a septic tank in a national park!