Firefighters in Fontana rescue woman from a 25-foot-deep hole in old septic tank
A woman is rolled out on a gurney after being rescued from a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Firefighters rescued a woman who had fallen into a 25-foot-deep hole next to her home in a Fontana mobile-home park on Thursday, Feb. 8.
She escaped with minor injuries.
Eric Sherwin, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department, said the woman was walking on red-brick tiles, just after 9:45 a.m., when they collapsed under her and she fell into an old septic tank.
Members of an urban search-and-rescue team that included Rancho Cucamonga Fire District firefighters constructed a tripod over the 3-foot-wide hole and attached a rope to it. That rope was on a crank attached to the back of a battalion chief’s SUV.
One firefighter, who has about 15 years of experience in such rescues, was lowered into the hole.
Sherwin said the idea of lowering a ladder was rejected because the woman was injured from tiles falling on her, and rescuers were concerned she might have difficulty climbing.
They gave the woman a helmet to wear.
Firefighters pulled her to the surface about noon. She was taken away from the Hacienda Mobile Park at 8200 Cherry Ave. via ambulance.
Fontana(Update): USAR team has established a rescue system. Rescuer has made entry. pic.twitter.com/QOGztj9p4f
Lizeth Gonzalez, 20, whose mom Gloria Gonzalez is a good friend of the woman, said the victim is 39 years old.
The victim has four children, from a 1-year-old son to a daughter in college. She had been doing laundry; there is a building with washers and dryers about 100 feet from her home.
A woman is rolled out on a gurney and placed into an ambulance after being rescued from a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Firefighters debrief following the rescue of a woman who fell into a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A 25 foot deep sinkhole can be seen following the rescue of a woman who fell into the hole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A woman is rolled out on a gurney and placed into an ambulance after being rescued from a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A Rancho Cucamonga firefighter slowly turns a winch as he and other firefighters work to rescue a woman who fell into a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A woman is placed on a gurney after being rescued from a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A San Bernardino County firefighter gives instructions as they work to rescue a woman who fell into a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Family members speak to San Bernardino County Sheriff following the rescue of a woman who fell into a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A woman is placed on a gurney after being rescued from a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A 25 foot deep sinkhole can be seen following the rescue of a woman who fell into the hole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters work to rescue a woman who fell into a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A woman is rolled out on a gurney after being rescued from a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters work to rescue a woman who fell into a 25 foot deep sinkhole in the patio of her mobile home at the Hacienda Mobile Park on Cherry Avenue in Fontana on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The woman was rescued after being trapped for approximately 2 hours by San Bernardino County and Rancho Cucamonga firefighters. She was transported to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A middle-school daughter heard her mother yelling. The daughter told her father, Gonzalez said, who didn’t believe his wife was in a hole until he heard her panicked voice.
That’s when someone called 911.
The methodical rescue from the 3-foot-wide pit took about two hours.
“She was pale as a ghost,” Gonzalez said when she saw the woman after the rescue. “She looked like she could barely get her breath in. …
“We thank God she’s OK, and she was able to get out,” Gonzalez said.
Sherwin said search-and-rescue teams perform this type of rescue several times each year, particularly in the High Desert. He said these septic tanks are typically in concrete vaults that include a concrete lid. He couldn’t say on Thursday whether this accident was related to the record-setting rainstorm that had just passed through.
“This is something we train for constantly,” Sherwin said.
The city was sending someone from the building and safety department to examine the septic tank, Sherwin said.
