A man had to be rescued by emergency responders at a California campground last Saturday after falling into the holding tank of a vault toilet while trying to retrieve his sunglasses.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office received a report around 2:15pm on June 20th that a person was trapped inside a restroom facility at Camp Edison near Shaver Lake. Sheriff’s deputies and Cal Fire firefighters responded to the scene.
The man had reportedly dropped his sunglasses into the toilet’s chemical holding tank and fell several feet into the enclosure while attempting to get them back. A translator was brought in because the man spoke only Spanish.
After spending roughly 15 minutes inside the tank, the man was pulled to safety by deputies and firefighters. Because of his exposure to urine, fecal matter, and chemicals, he was put through a decontamination process before being cleared. He was otherwise unharmed.
Vault toilets, which operate similarly to porta-potties and have no plumbing connection, are common at campgrounds and trailheads across the country. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office used the incident as an opportunity to issue safety reminders for anyone using these facilities.
Officials say anyone who drops an item into a vault toilet should consider it a loss and not attempt to retrieve it. Valuables such as phones, wallets, and jewelry should be secured or removed before approaching the toilet opening. The deep, confined nature of vault toilet tanks makes self-rescue nearly impossible for anyone who falls in. Combined with chemical exposure, such situations can turn fatal.