Firefighters discover ‘missing’ plumber asleep in crawl space under California home

A missing plumber that sparked a rescue by Los Angeles firefighters fell asleep in a home’s crawl space, California officials reported.

A worried homeowner called for help when the 50-year-old plumber did not return for three hours after entering the 2,100-square-foot home’s crawl space Saturday, March 25, a Los Angeles City Fire Department release said.

The home, built in 1958, had a three-foot-high crawl space beneath it, firefighters said.

Using special equipment for confined-space rescues, firefighters spotted the plumber inside the crawl space, the release said.

When they cut two holes in the floor with chainsaws to rescue him, the sleeping plumber woke up and crawled out on his own, firefighters said. He was uninjured.

The incident took place in Northridge, a neighborhood about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

This story was originally published March 26, 2023 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Firefighters discover ‘missing’ plumber asleep in crawl space under California home."