D.C.’s firefighters are equipped to do a lot, including high-angle rescues—getting people down from rooftops and the such.

But on December 28, firefighters from Engine 22/Truck 11 on upper Georgia Avenue performed a high-angle rescue from an unexpected place—the top of a garbage truck:

Members of Platoon No. 1 were alerted for the High Angle Rescue Alarm at the Fort Totten Transfer Station. Units arrived to find a trash truck that had tipped back while attempting to unload, leaving the driver trapped approximately 25 feet in the air. Units used a front end loader to stabilize the trash truck and Truck 11 assisted Rescue Squad 2 & 3 with rescue of the driver.

The truck is pictured at right, and pictures of the rescue are here and here.

Firefighters: what can’t they do?