By Barbara arringoni
Chico Enterprise-Record
OROVILLE, Calif. — A man’s long fall into a wine cellar at a home on Robinson Street in Oroville led to a major rescue effort and moderate injuries for the longtime Oroville resident.
Oroville Fire Department spokesman Robert Englund said the man who fell had apparently been inside the home looking at a large dumbwaiter, when he fell through it about 15 or 16 feet into a wine cellar.
Emergency responders were first called to the scene at about 3:45 p.m., and rescuers had to get access to the man through an exterior hole.
The rescue took more than an hour, and a confined-space rescue team was called in.
“Any time we go below ground into a pit or cellar where an air-monitoring device is needed, we use confined space rescuers,” Englund said.
The emergency drew six fire engines, three rescue squads, two breathing crews, a hazmat crew and four chiefs.
The victim, whose name was not released, was described as an elderly man and a close friend of the homeowner.
He was taken by ambulance to Enloe Medical Center in Chico.
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