LEBANON, Tenn. – Fire department officials rescued a man early Wednesday morning after he became trapped by rising water underneath a building along South Cumberland Street, just off the square in Lebanon.
Crews were called to the business located at 212 South Cumberland Street around 6 a.m.
Upon arrival, emergency personnel determined they would have to access the man through the building and used a chainsaw to cut a hole in the floor.
Through the hole, they were able to hoist the man to safety.
Police said it appears the man is homeless and was sleeping under the building.
When the water from a creek that runs underneath the businesses in the 200 block of South Cumberland Street began to rise, the man became frightened and called 911.
"I think he is a homeless gentleman who was probably staying the night there, [to get in] out of the weather," Lebanon Fire Department Capt. Jason Baird told Nashville's News 2. "He got in and I guess the rain came so fast it started rising on him and before he realized it, it got to the point where he was not going to be able to exit the building."
It was still dark Wednesday morning and the fast moving water made communication with the man difficult.
"Basically, we told him to shelter in place until we could come up with a plan to how we were going to get him out of that situation," Baird continued.
With the creek water levels still rising, rescue crews had to act fast.
They cut a pad lock off the Puffy Stuff Company, the business the man was beneath, and went inside.
"We knew he was on the exterior wall so we were trying to get as close to that as we could," Baird said.
After knocking on the floor to locate the man, the fire department used a chainsaw to cut a hole through the wood floor.
"Once we made access through the floor," Baird said, "he came right out and was happy to be out of that situation."
The man was not injured and turned over the police, who arrested him for trespassing.
His name wasn't immediately released.
