QUILCENE, Wash. — Authorities in Washington said firefighters had to rescue a California woman who fell into a toilet at a national park while trying to retrieve her cellphone.
The Brinnon Fire Department said on its Facebook page that on April 19 at 3 p.m., a woman in her 40s was using the restroom at Olympic National Forest when she dropped her cellphone into the toilet.
She first took apart the toilet seat and tried using dog leashes to try to get it out.
"Eventually, she took the leashes to help support herself, which failed, and she slid into and fell into the vault head first," the fire department said.
After trying for about 15 to 20 minutes to get herself out, she could grab her cell phone and call 911 for help.
Crews with Brinnon Fire and Quilcene Fire responded to the mountain top.
"The crews made a makeshift cribbing platform by passing them down to the patient," the Brinnon Fire Department said. "After making it tall enough for her to stand on, the crew pulled the victim to safety."
The department said the woman was uninjured and did not want to be transported.
She was washed off and "strongly encouraged to seek medical attention after being exposed to human waste, but she only wanted to leave," the department said.
The department said she thanked the first responders and continued her trip back to California.
"The patient was extremely fortunate not to be overcome by toxic gases or sustain injury," the department said.