Young boy rescued after falling into septic pipe

WEST GOSHEN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — A young boy was rescued Tuesday evening after falling into a pipe outside a sanitation business in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

The incident happened around 5:20 p.m. as the three-year-old boy was playing in a yard on the property of a sanitation business along Snyder Avenue in West Goshen Township.

“The kids were outside playing when the child fell into the pipe,” Dave March, the public information officer for the West Chester Fire Department, said. “His brother, who witnessed the incident, ran and told his mother, who called 911.”

March said the small child fell into an access pipe to a septic tank, which was about 12 to 14 inches wide. The boy was about four to five feet deep, partially stuck in sewage, and holding on to some sort of rope until emergency crews arrived.

Lt. Michael Cotter, of the West Goshen Police Department, said, “It was a coordinated effort. Everyone went in. Everyone knew what job they had to do. And they were able to do this and get it done very quickly to get this young child out.”

Chopper 6 was over the scene as emergency crews responded and worked to reach the child, who officials said was in the pipe for about 25 minutes.

Authorities said the boy was successfully rescued, wheeled away in an ambulance, and taken to a local hospital.

“He was crying. He was scared, but he was alert,” March explained. “Didn’t appear to have major injuries or any injuries at all.”

Officials said this was simply an accident.

According to Lt. Cotter, this situation is something both police and fire crews train for. He said that training went a long way on Tuesday evening to make sure the child was alright.

“Any incident involving a child is difficult for first responders, but you go into a mode when you get there. You know what you need to do,” Lt. Cotter said. “From what I could see when I got here, everyone that was here working did a phenomenal job.”