SAN LORENZO, CA -- Firefighters on Wednesday rescued a man who said he was stuck in a restaurant duct system for two days, authorities said.
Alameda County sheriff’s deputies took the man into custody, spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said. They will cite him for trespassing and are exploring whether he was trying to burglarize the building.
Authorities did not immediately identify him. “We checked, and he was not Santa Claus,” Kelly said.
Fire crews responded just before 9:30 a.m. to the old Chef Kwong’s Chinese Restaurant in the 700 block of Bockman Road, an establishment that is now closed. Kelly said somebody heard a person crying for help and called authorities. Firefighters also heard moaning when they arrived, according to a statement from the Alameda County Fire Department.
Crews then went into a rescue operation, getting the man loose by cutting away the sheet metal around the vents. Firefighters needed less than 30 minutes to free the man, the agency said. He was covered in grease, Kelly said.
“He was very dirty, very cold,” he said. “He was very thankful to see us.”
The man told authorities he had been stuck in the duct for two days. An ambulance took him to a hospital for treatment of exposure.
“The vent had some wide holes, but it’s smooth, and you combine that with grease and you can’t gain traction,” Kelly said.
Officials from the Alameda County Health Department and Alameda County Building Department also responded to the scene.
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