Donation bins — easy to get into, impossible to get out of.
Derby firefighters rescued a woman trapped in a donation bin in the parking lot of St. Michael’s Church on Derby Avenue Friday.
The woman, about 5 feet 4 inches tall, was apparently dropping items off. She fell in after trying to retrieve an item from the large metal box, police said. What precisely she was trying to retrieve wasn’t clear, but no crime was committed (if that changes, we’ll let you know).
People from the Catholic War Veterans hall across the street had noticed a young boy wearing a Star Wars Legos shirt, perhaps six years old, standing alone outside the donation bin. They went to see what he was doing, at which point they noticed his mother inside.
They notified police, who sent fire and ambulance crews to the scene.
Derby first responders cut the lock from the bin to get the woman out. It took a few minutes.
The woman could be seen peeking through the donation slot, asking questions to the rescue crew as they worked. She could stick her arm through the opening up to her elbow.
Her son was calm, but he looked like he had touched a stack of car tires discarded in front of the bin. The emergency responders took him to an ambulance so he could clean up.
The woman appeared slightly dazed when she emerged from inside the bid. She said she hit her head after falling in. Police notified her husband of what was happening, and she was requesting to be taken to Griffin Hospital to get checked out.
She had used the discarded car tires as a small ladder to reach into the bin.
Police talked to her while she was inside the box. The immediate concern after she was freed was her well being. The woman was not arrested, nor did she appear to be accused of committing a crime.
The call came in at about 7:40 p.m.
It’s not the first time Derby emergency responders have fished a person out of a donation bin.
A Derby police officer said he was driving by the Derby Avenue spot once and saw feet dangling from the top of the bin.
“A guy was trying to steal something. He ended up getting arrested,” the officer said.
Derby Fire Department Assistant Chief Bob Laskowski and Derby Storm Ambulance Assistant Chief Jim Anderson said the woman wasn’t in danger, so rescuers opted to cut the lock on the side of the bin — as opposed to tearing the bin apart.
“We tried to minimize damage,” Anderson said.
People across the street cheered when the woman emerged.
The donation bin benefits “Kiducation.“
