Woman Rescued After Getting Stuck in a Strom Drain on Westminster Campus in Fulton

A woman stuck in a storm drain on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton has been rescued.

Fulton Fire Department was called to the campus the morning of Tuesday, October 17, 2023 and found that a woman in her 30’s had entered the storm drain from an off campus location and followed it on campus.

The woman alerted a student walking in the area by screaming.

Fire personnel were able to communicate with the patient through the drain pipe, however were unable to see her.

The woman had been in the storm drain for an estimated 18 hours.

Mutual aid was requested from the City of Columbia Fire Department Confined Space Rescue Team.

After working for almost three hours, the woman was extricated from the storm drain pipe.

She was showing signs of hypothermia and was flown to the University Hospital by an MU helicopter for treatment.

Multiple agencies responded to the incident that included the Fulton Fire Department, Columbia Fire Department, City of Fulton Police Department, Callaway County Ambulance District, Callaway County Sheriff’s Department, City of Fulton Street, Utility and Engineering Departments, Westminster College Staff, MoDOT, Callaway County Emergency Management, and Callaway County Joint Communications.

South Callaway Fire Protection District provided district coverage during this incident.