Would you take a swim in a pit toilet for $1 million? How about a free cellphone? OK, how about a pair of sunglasses?
As ridiculous as those questions sound, a gut-churning rescue at a California campsite has reignited an all-too-frequent discussion: Do you value a small personal item more than avoiding a plunge into a chemical toilet?
On Saturday, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a man trapped in a campsite vault toilet at Camp Edison Shaver Lake. According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the man was trying to retrieve a pair of sunglasses and wound up following them into the abyss.
“A translator was brought in due to the man only speaking Spanish. It was determined the man dropped his sunglasses inside the toilet, into the chemical solution. In an attempt to retrieve them, the man fell several feet into the hole and began yelling for help,” the office told GearJunkie.
Deputies and firefighters were able to pull the man to safety.
But not after “10 to 15 minutes,” of, to quote Red of The Shawshank Redemption, “sh*t-smelling foulness I can’t even imagine, or maybe I just don’t want to.”
Due to his exposure to urine, fecal matter, and chemicals, he was put through a decontamination process. He was then able to walk away, otherwise unharmed.
PSA: Pit Toilets Are Not Safe
While it seems like it’s common sense not to risk falling into a pit toilet for a lost item, it happens far more often than one would expect.
In October 2022, a woman fell 8 feet into a pit toilet in Washington State. The lost item? Her cellphone. In 2023, authorities had to rescue a woman who had fallen into a northern Michigan pit toilet. The culprit in this case? A dropped Apple Watch.
While the victims in those instances lived, these falls can be fatal. In 2014, two people died trying to retrieve a new cellphone from a pit toilet in China.
While obviously disgusting, being trapped in a pit toilet is seriously dangerous.
“As for safety tips, never try and reach inside a tank of a vault toilet. If you drop something inside, consider it a loss. Always secure or remove valuables (phone, wallet, jewelry, etc.) before getting close to the hole of one of these toilets,” the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office told us.
Basically, view everything in a pit toilet as a one-way transaction. Once deposited, consider it banished from existence.
Falling into a pit exposes the victim to high concentrations of urine, feces, and dangerous bioaerosols. Pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, can survive in human waste for weeks, posing extreme infection and disease risks.
Fortunately for the California man, he was uninjured and was able to walk away from the incident after being decontaminated. But that’s not always the case, and the experience sounds traumatic and haunting.
We’ve all seen the signs that beg “please do not throw trash in the toilet. It’s very hard to retrieve.” But you know what else is hard to get out of a pit toilet? You. Just something to ponder if your phone ever slips from your pocket in a very unfortunate location.
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