Firefighters needed about 2 1/2 hours Tuesday to free a nude woman who somehow got stuck between two buildings in Santa Ana.
Firefighters were dispatched at 2:05 p.m. to 1020 N. Harbor Blvd. where the woman somehow got "in between two walls of two commercial businesses," according to Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Orange County Fire Authority.
"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," said Nguyen. "She was just right inside here. She was scrunched in there sideways."
Firefighters drilled a hole in one of the walls to thread a small camera through to get a better view before attempting to cut out parts of the wall to free her, Nguyen said. Then, "after cutting a big square hole" out of the wall, they were able to get her out just before 4:30 p.m., he added.
The woman was taken to an area hospital but her condition was not immediately clear, Nguyen said. She was alert and conscious, Nguyen said.
Workers in the area heard cries for help for 20 to 30 minutes before figuring out where she was, Nguyen said. An auto repair shop is located there so it is noisy and it was apparently difficult to pinpoint where the calls for help were coming from, Nguyen said.
In between the noises and sounds of their Santa Ana autobody shop, William Mudawar and his brother heard something strange.
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"My brother heard someone crying or screaming from the back," he said. "We thought the neighbor was crying because he lost his dog. It was just a surprise to see her laying on the ground naked."
