Firefighters wake up sleeping plumber in Northridge crawlspace

LOS ANGELES - A plumber entered a crawlspace of a Northridge home and fell asleep for about three hours Saturday until firefighters cut holes in the floor and woke him up.

The worried homeowner contacted the Los Angeles Fire Department after the 50-year-old man entered the crawl space under the 2,100-square-foot home and was not seen or heard from for up to three hours, said the LAFD's Brian Humphrey.

The home was built in 1958 and the crawl space in the raised foundation was a maximum of three feet height, Humphrey said.

The homeowner shouted for the plumber but there was no response, he said.

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"LAFD crews, including those specially trained and equipped in Urban Search and Rescue arrived quickly to ventilate and monitor the enclosed environment, and soon visibly noted a small portion of the still unresponsive worker's body at a distance," Humphrey said.

"Firefighters cutting the second of two holes in the home's floor with chainsaws to gain best access, and to assist in his efficient removal, awakened the sleeping worker, who soon thereafter crawled from the crawlspace uninjured," he said.

Paramedics evaluated the plumber and it appeared he did not need to be taken to a hospital by ambulance, Humphrey said.