A man who slipped into a restricted area of the Fields Corner MBTA station in Dorchester on Saturday afternoon wound up spending hours jammed in a narrow space between an elevator shaft and the station’s exterior wall before Boston firefighters finally pulled him out. Riders and passersby heard loud banging echoing through the station and called for help, bringing in Boston Fire crews and MBTA Transit Police. When rescuers reached him, the man was conscious and able to speak with officers at the scene.
Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said the man "claimed to be homeless seeking a place to sleep" and that he "was not inside the elevator shaft but rather between the shaft and outside wall," according to Boston.com. Sullivan said the man had "unlawfully gained entry" into a restricted part of the Dorchester station and that firefighters removed him at about 3:30 p.m., the outlet reported. Transit Police did not release the man's name.
How he got stuck
Officials said the man climbed into a restricted area, reportedly entering from the roof, and became trapped in the forward portion of the elevator shaft, The Boston Globe reported. Witnesses told local TV they heard persistent banging and that the man said he had been stuck for as long as three days, according to the Globe. Fire crews worked slowly and carefully to widen the tight gap enough to get him out without making his situation any worse.
Response and next steps
The man is expected to face a trespassing charge, Transit Police told Boston.com. The MBTA and Boston Fire Department did not immediately release further details about the rescue, including whether he needed more hospital care beyond being checked out at the scene.
Why it matters
The Fields Corner rescue comes on the heels of other serious and sometimes deadly entrapments on the T that have raised questions about equipment safety and how bystanders respond. Earlier this month, a man died after getting stuck at the bottom of an escalator at Davis station, The Boston Globe reported. Transit officials and advocates say cases like these underscore two difficult problems at once: how to secure aging infrastructure and how to deal with broader social crises such as homelessness that frequently play out in and around stations.
