New Westminster firefighters used the Jaws of Life to free a man trapped in a clothing donation bin.
Fire crews got called to the 1000 block of Quayside Drive on Jan. 15 after getting reports that someone was stuck in one of the containers where people can deposit clothing donations for charity.
“For whatever reason, this individual crawled in there,” said Fire Chief Tim Armstrong. “Those bins are like a mailbox – once you open it you can get in but you can’t get back out.”
Passersby alerted emergency officials about the man’s predicament.
“I guess the guy was thrashing around so much that he knocked the thing over and it was on its back. He was banging around in there and somebody must have called,” Armstrong said. “Police were there and they called us to help because they couldn’t get him out.”
Because the openings for depositing clothes are “one way in”, firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to cut the front lock mechanism off the bin to open it up and let the man out.
“He had no injuries,” Armstrong told The Record. “Wounded pride, that’s about it.”
