Sarnia fire fighters rescue man from garbage truck after fall from unloading dumpster

Sarnia fire officials are warning people about the dangers of climbing into dumpsters after a person had to be rescued from a garbage truck.

Sarnia fire fighters rescue man from garbage truck after fall from unloading dumpster The man was sleeping in the dumpster before it unloaded, fire official said Sarnia fire officials are warning people about the dangers of climbing into dumpsters after a person had to be rescued from a garbage truck. It happened at around 6 a.m. on Friday, said Mike Otis, a public education officer with Sarnia Fire Rescue.

"Our crews were called out for a rescue — someone trapped in the back of a garbage truck," Otis said. "Apparently they were sleeping in a dumpster when the truck loaded." The driver saw on his camera a person fall into the truck and heard some screaming, at which point he called 911, Otis said.

"They were pretty banged up and a little bloody," he said of the victim. "Our firefighters asked the driver to open the back of the truck so another firefighter could enter and stabilize the patient." The executive director of Good Shepherd's Lodge said he was “quite shocked” when he heard about an individual sleeping in a dumpster.

“I did mention this to staff, and staff said occasionally it has happened potentially ... maybe once a year, maybe it doesn't get reported as much,” Jack Christine told CBC Windsor. He said Good Shepherd's Lodge is there to serve the community, and he’s encouraging “anyone who is experiencing homelessness ... to get in touch with either of our homeless shelters.” Shelters and smoke Good Shepherd's Lodge, which operates two shelters in Sarnia, has seen an uptick in the number of people seeking shelter in light of the wildfire smoke affecting the area, he said.

“During the winter months, due to the cold weather, the occupancy rate tends to increase ... to 100 per cent, [and] during the summer ... because of the better weather it tends to fall," he added. “The past couple of days tend to show almost like winter month occupancy primarily due to the quality of the air due to obviously the wildfires." But Christine said they have not had to turn anyone away.

“Last night we actually had availability at our overflow shelter. We had seven beds available last night,” he said. “And even though our Good Shepherd's Lodge was full, we would have been able to put up a temporary cot bed if any individual presented as being homeless last night at the Good Shepherd’s Lodge.”