WA Firefighters Rescue Injured Man Trapped in Garbage Truck

Washington firefighters rescued a man who was trapped inside a garbage truck Monday.

Crews from the Spokane Fire Department and Spokane County Fire District 9 responded to the technical rescue incident shortly after 9 a.m. When they arrived at the scene, they discovered a man had been sleeping in a dumpster when a City of Spokane garbage truck unloaded the dumpster into the back of the sanitation vehicle, the Spokane Fire Department said in a release.

Firefighters ensured the garbage truck's tailgate hopper openings were open in order to reach the trapped man and provide air circulation. They also made sure the hydraulic regulators were controlled and turned off.

It took about 10 minutes to extricate the man, and he was taken to the hospital with several undetermined traumatic injuries, according to the fire department.