A BYSTANDER HEARD SCREAMS COMING FROM A GARBAGE TRUCK — THEN FIREFIGHTERS DISCOVERED A MAN BURIED UNDER THE TRASH

It sounded like something no one expected to hear before sunrise.

A garbage truck was beginning its morning route through San Francisco when a passerby suddenly heard what sounded like someone yelling from inside the vehicle.

The person alerted the truck driver.

The driver stopped, turned off the vehicle — and soon realized the sounds were coming from a man trapped beneath a massive pile of garbage.

What followed was a dramatic rescue that lasted more than two hours and involved around 25 firefighters digging through the truck by hand.

THE CALL CAME JUST AFTER 4 A.M.

The San Francisco Fire Department was alerted at around 4:11 a.m. on Sept. 2 after a bystander heard shouting coming from a Recology garbage truck near the 100 block of Mason Street.

The truck had only just begun its route.

According to SFFD Capt. Mariano Elias, the driver had already stopped once and compacted the garbage before the bystander raised the alarm.

The driver then stopped the truck and heard someone calling for help.

There was a person inside.

But getting him out was anything but simple.

FIREFIGHTERS COULDN’T SIMPLY EMPTY THE TRUCK

The man was buried underneath the garbage, and officials determined that dumping the contents onto the street could put him at even greater risk.

So firefighters took another approach.

They began removing the garbage manually.

Around 25 firefighters worked for more than two hours, carefully digging through the truck in an effort to locate and free the trapped man.

Throughout the rescue, he remained conscious and able to communicate.

Capt. Elias said he personally heard the man yell several times, although he could not tell whether the sounds were caused by pain or frustration.

PARAMEDICS WERE ALREADY WORRIED ABOUT HIS CONDITION

While firefighters worked to reach him, paramedics faced another serious concern.

Because the man had been trapped beneath a large amount of material, medical crews were worried about crush syndrome, a potentially dangerous condition that can occur when prolonged pressure damages muscle tissue.

Paramedics were able to access his arm and administer an IV while he was still partially buried.

The treatment was intended to reduce the risk of complications as firefighters continued the painstaking rescue.

HE WAS FINALLY PULLED OUT BEFORE 7 A.M.

After more than two hours of work, firefighters finally reached the man.

He was described as awake and oriented when he was removed from the truck shortly before 7 a.m.

He was transported to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.

Video and photographs from the scene showed firefighters working around the truck as huge quantities of garbage were removed during the rescue.

HOW DID HE END UP INSIDE THE TRUCK?

That remains one of the biggest questions surrounding the incident.

According to Capt. Elias, investigators believe the man had initially been inside a dumpster.

The dumpster was then emptied into the garbage truck, carrying the man along with its contents.

Authorities have not established exactly why he was inside the dumpster.

Elias said it was possible the man had been sleeping there or searching through discarded items for something useful or something to eat.

The investigation remains ongoing.

RECOVERY CREWS CALLED IT EXTREMELY UNUSUAL

The incident was also described as highly unusual by Recology.

Spokesperson Robert Reed told The San Francisco Standard that a similar incident had not happened in roughly 15 years.

Entering dumpsters and refuse containers is extremely dangerous, particularly because people inside may be impossible for collection crews to see before a container is emptied.

In this case, however, one crucial detail made the difference:

Someone heard him.

A passerby noticed the shouting, alerted the driver and ultimately triggered the emergency response that brought firefighters to the scene.

A MORNING THAT COULD HAVE ENDED VERY DIFFERENTLY

The man was buried beneath the garbage.

The truck had already compacted its load.

And rescuers knew they could not simply unload everything without potentially putting him in greater danger.

Instead, firefighters spent hours digging through the truck piece by piece while paramedics treated him as they worked.

Eventually, they got him out alive.

His condition and the full extent of his injuries remain under investigation, as does exactly what happened before he entered the dumpster.

But one thing is already clear.

A sound that might easily have been ignored became the clue that saved a man’s life.

One passerby heard someone calling from inside a garbage truck — and stopped long enough to find out why.