Man asleep in Welland dumpster rescued after tossed in to garbage truck

Hope Centre working to provide support for man

A man who was poured from a dumpster into a garbage truck at the Lincoln Centre plaza had to be rescued by Welland Fire and Emergency Services Monday.

Fire Chief Adam Eckhart said the truck’s front lift scooped up the container and dropped its contents into its rear compartment.

A “very alert” operator noticed the man on the truck’s camera system and realized a person was in the load — before he would have initiated the compactor, which is “very fortunate,” said Eckhart.

A narrow firefighting “attic ladder” was dropped from an aerial apparatus into the garbage truck and the man was able to get himself out.

Eckhart said the man did not suffer serious injuries but was taken to hospital by paramedics for assessment.

The call came in about 7:40 a.m., said Eckhart.

Niagara Regional Police Const. Phil Gavin said it appears the man, in his 30s, was sleeping in the dumpster.

The City of Welland is offering its East Main Street transit terminal as a warming station for people to get out of the cold. It is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

The Hope Centre’s chief executive officer Jon Braithwaite said he was made aware of the dumpster incident, but not of the circumstances surrounding it, nor is he familiar with the man involved.

Braithwaite said he is “relieved” the man was not injured, and said his organization is trying to find appropriate housing for him.

Shelly Mousseau is homeless program manager for Gateway of Niagara, a regionally funded program that oversees the Niagara Assertive Street Outreach team, which has two people in Welland daily, she said.

She said there are about 60 shelter beds in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines that are not full currently.

This is enough to cover the entire region, she said.

“There definitely is space available so nobody has to sleep on the street,” Mousseau said.

Through Niagara Region, The Hope Centre had five Welland beds added to the mix last October.

Mousseau said an “unfortunate” reality about homelessness is that some people choose to not take advantage of the roofs available to go over their heads.

Some “don’t want to go into the shelter system,” she said.

Anyone needing housing support can dial 211.

Mousseau said that providing more beds in Welland, instead of expecting vulnerable people to relocate themselves to St. Catharines or Niagara Falls, is not necessary.

“The need isn’t extremely high in that area,” she said.