PORTLAND, Ore. — In the early morning hours on Friday, Portland Fire and Rescue crews were asked to assist an individual on an unusual call that may have left some crew members scratching their heads.
At around 5:45 in the morning, crews responded to reports of an individual calling for help from inside what was described as "a hole of some sort" in Northwest Portland.
Upon arrival, crews determined the hole was in fact a pipe of some sort, and the individual in question was calling for help from some distance below the surface street.
Portland Fire and Rescue then called in the help of a Specialty Rescue Team, along with Portland police to help with traffic control around the area of Northwest 15th Avenue and Glisan Street.
While some fire crew members set up a Rescue Branch, other crew members checked surrounding buildings for basements that might be able to access the pipe where the person got stuck.
They seemingly weren't able to find any, as they pursued lifting the trapped individual up to street level using "specialized equipment and ropes."
By 6:10 a.m., Portland Fire and Rescue was able to fully hoist the person out of the pipe, and were evaluated by Portland Fire and AMR medics.
Portland Fire and Rescue emphasized the rescue was only possible due to an alert Portlander who overheard the person's calls for help and contacted 911.
When KGW asked Portland Fire and Rescue if they had any ideas as to how the individual got down there, they responded saying "It is unclear at this time how they got down there," and adding that, "we may never know."
