naked woman had to be rescued by firefighters in
California on Tuesday after she became trapped between two buildings in a space that was less than 10 inches wide.
Firefighters from the Orange County Fire Authority were dispatched to 1020 North Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana at around 2:05 p.m. on Tuesday. Employees at two adjacent automotive businesses had heard a woman crying for help for 20 to 30 minutes before realising she was
trapped between the buildings.
William Mudawar, who works at one of the bodyshops, told
NBC Los Angeles that he and his brother kept hearing strange noises but were not sure what they were.
"My brother heard someone crying or screaming from the back," Mudawar said. "We thought the neighbor was crying because he lost his dog."
The fire service's Captain Thanh Nguyen told
The Orange County Register that the noisy work going on at the two businesses and in the surrounding area had made it difficult to work out exactly where the woman was trapped—until some firefighters got on the roof to peer down the small gap.
While trying to locate the woman, the firefighters drilled a hole and threaded through a camera to see her. They then used a saw to create a hole big enough for the woman to escape.
"The biggest challenge was cutting close enough to actually get her out without pulling her through this tight little space but then also not let any part of that wall come down on her and injure her," Nguyen told NBC Los Angeles. "She was just right inside here. She was scrunched in there sideways."
The firefighters pulled the woman to safety at around 4:30 p.m., nearly 2-and-a-half hours after they arrived.
The woman was examined by paramedics before being transported to a local hospital, where Nguyen said she was alert and conscious.
The fire service confirmed on social media that the gap was just 8 inches wide and that it is not yet known how the woman got into the space.
After a member of the public asked the fire service for a follow-up on
Twitter, the department replied:
"The victim did not tell us how she got there during our effort to rescue her from her perilous situation and there were no witnesses."
The incident also caused confusion for Mudawar, who asked NBC Los Angeles: "How did she get in there?" He added: "It was just a surprise to see her laying on the ground naked."
Newsweek has contacted the Orange County Fire Authority for comment.