Why You Should Never Save Gear Dropped in a Camp Vault Toilet

A camper in California is lucky to survive after he fell into a campground toilet while chasing sunglasses.

The man, whose name and age have not been released, spent about 15 minutes trapped inside the holding tank of a vault toilet on June 20. officials told Outside The man flushed his shed down the toilet and into the chemical solution at Camp Edison Shaver Lake, a popular campground in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

While attempting to rescue them, the man accidentally fell several feet into the pit and began screaming for help, Tony Botti of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said. Outside.

“This is a facility that has no plumbing, so it essentially works like a porta-potty,” Botti said, adding that representatives from the Sheriff’s Office and Cal Fire firefighters responded immediately and got the man to safety within five minutes of arriving on the scene. “Having been exposed to urine, fecal matter and chemicals, he was put through a decontamination process. He was then able to escape, otherwise unharmed.”

Getting stuck in a campground toilet is no laughing matter.

“He could have passed out while he was there and never been seen again,” said Fire Capt. Gary Couch of Cal Fire, the responding agency. Outside. “If something falls in there, let it go.”

According to experts, a poorly ventilated facility can fill with methane and hydrogen sulfide, both of which are harmful to breathe.

Vault toilet collapse could soon turn fatal

On average, a vault toilet is about four to five feet deep. Unlike traditional pit latrines, which use unlined holes US Forest Service Writes that Vault toilets use a sealed, waterproof underground container that can trap dangerous gases.

In 2022, a woman fell eight feet from a trailhead toilet while trying to save her phone. As Outside It was written at the time that there has been a long-running debate over whether you could die trapped in this type of toilet.

National Association of Safety Professionals, a workplace advocacy nonprofit, writes Confined spaces containing waste can produce hydrogen sulfide. This colorless gas often smells like rotten eggs and is formed naturally when organic matter in sewage or garbage breaks down. In tight spaces, it can accumulate to lethal concentrations in a matter of minutes, causing a person to faint or suffocate.

People also throw things like syringes, broken glass, and trash into campground toilets, making falling into them not only serious but potentially dangerous. Additionally, feces can contain harmful pathogens like norovirus, rotavirus, and hepatitis A, meaning any accidentally ingested feces can quickly turn into an infection. Coming in contact with feces through the eyes or nose can also cause viral infections like pink eye.

A pair of sunglasses probably isn’t worth the risk.

Anything that goes down the vault toilet now belongs to the campground

Because vault toilets are airtight units, they can trap dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide and methane. If a person falls or climbs into it, he may become unconscious or suffocate. If you spill something in the vault toilet, experts say just leave it there.

“Write the item off. It’s contaminated, it’s human waste – absolutely not. I wouldn’t recommend jumping in there for anything,” Couch said.

Deep enclosures, like campground vault toilets, can make it nearly impossible for someone to rescue themselves if they fall in, Botti said.

“Exposure to chemicals can ultimately be fatal,” he said. “If you drop anything inside, consider it a loss. Always secure or remove valuables like a phone, wallet or jewelry before going near one of these toilet holes.”

If you spill something down the safe’s toilet, experts say it’s best to leave the item alone.

• Don’t climb inside.
• If a fallen object compromises your balance, do not search for it with makeshift equipment.
• Notify camp host or park rangers. Sometimes they have specialized equipment or may have to write off the item as a biohazard loss.