Firefighters bring man down from marijuana billboard

billboard rescue — Menlo Park firefighters use ropes, a liter basket and their aerial ladder truck to remove a man complaining of weakness and dizziness on a billboard next to Highway 101 in East Palo Alto. Photo courtesy of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District.

By the Daily Post staff

Firefighters rescued a man who got stuck on the catwalk of a marijuana billboard 25 feet off the ground in East Palo Alto overlooking the Highway 101 freeway, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District reports.

At 11:34 a.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 3), East Palo Alto police asked the fire district for a ladder truck to help get the man down. The man, who is in his 30s, was throwing things from the catwalk to “get someone’s attention,” Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.

The man said he felt weak and dizzy.

billboard rescue 2 — Menlo Park Firefighters Sam Pacholuck and Erik Anenson secure a man into a liter basket in order to remove him from an elevated catwalk 25 feet above the ground, while an East Palo Alto Police Officer looks on. Photo courtesy of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District.

Firefighters climbed to the catwalk of the marijuana billboard and put the man into a liter basket. A 108-foot aerial ladder was then used to lower the man to an ambulance gurney. The man was taken to San Mateo County Hospital in San Mateo for an evaluation.

“We occasionally have used our aerial ladders as make-shift cranes to remove people and animals from trees, creek beds, culverts, bridges, rooftops or open basements under construction,” Schapelhouman said. “I guess we can now add billboards to that list.”

“Someone suggested that the wording on the billboard may have been what made him climb up there. Who knows?” the chief said.