Family evacuates home after 'sinkhole' opens in their Florida yard... but it turns out to be a collapsed septic tank
A family who rushed to evacuate their
home after discovering what they believed was a sinkhole can breathe a
sigh of relief - as it was a collapsed septic tank.
Nerves remain fraught in the Tampa Bay area of Florida where Jeff Bush, 37, was swallowed into a sinkhole and killed while he slept in his bed in February.
It was no different for the Darlene Nieves, who discovered the hole in their backyard in Ruskin when her son Justin fell in the seven-foot-by-two-foot depression while playing on Thursday night.
'My brother said, "Watch out!" And my whole leg went
down and all my friends pulled me out,' he told WTSP.
His mother asked friends for help before eventually calling the fire department and moving to a hotel.
'I was kinda scared,' she said. 'The first thing that went through my head was the one in Seffner where the guy fell through the house and my kids' bedroom is back there, and I wasn't taking a chance with my kids.'
Fire officials arrived on the scene to test the ground and soon deduced the ground had dropped due to an old, unused septic tank that was not properly filled.
'It appears we did find sections of the old lid, and it appears we found
a section of the old septic tank,' Bill Langford with Hillsborough
County Code Enforcement said.
A plastic picnic table had been placed in the hole on Thursday night by Code Enforcement workers to see if it changed overnight, but it did not, Langford said.
He added that the stability of the surrounding ground, the town's sewage history and the hole's location in the yard led them to their conclusion.
He added that the family were right to be cautious.
'Any changes that you're not accustomed to on your property, for your own safety, you should take notice to it,' Langford said.
Ruskin is about 25 miles from Seffner where a sinkhole opened up on February 28, sucking Jeff Bush from his bed. His body has never been found.
Nerves remain fraught in the Tampa Bay area of Florida where Jeff Bush, 37, was swallowed into a sinkhole and killed while he slept in his bed in February.
It was no different for the Darlene Nieves, who discovered the hole in their backyard in Ruskin when her son Justin fell in the seven-foot-by-two-foot depression while playing on Thursday night.
Concerns: A family evacuated their home after
ground in their backyard gave way and they suspected it was a sinkhole.
Officials placed this plastic table in it to see if it moved - but it
did not
His mother asked friends for help before eventually calling the fire department and moving to a hotel.
'I was kinda scared,' she said. 'The first thing that went through my head was the one in Seffner where the guy fell through the house and my kids' bedroom is back there, and I wasn't taking a chance with my kids.'
Fire officials arrived on the scene to test the ground and soon deduced the ground had dropped due to an old, unused septic tank that was not properly filled.
Relief: Investigators have deduced that the ground dropped due to an old, unfilled septic tank
Sinking feeling: The family discovered the hole when the homeowners' son was playing outside and fell in it
A plastic picnic table had been placed in the hole on Thursday night by Code Enforcement workers to see if it changed overnight, but it did not, Langford said.
He added that the stability of the surrounding ground, the town's sewage history and the hole's location in the yard led them to their conclusion.
He added that the family were right to be cautious.
Fears: Homeowner Darlene Nieves, left, said she
didn't want to take any chances so evacuated after a sinkhole swalled
Jeff Bush, right, from his bed 25 miles from her home earlier this year
Safe: The hole has been covered until it can be filled and officials said the family was right to be cautious
Ruskin is about 25 miles from Seffner where a sinkhole opened up on February 28, sucking Jeff Bush from his bed. His body has never been found.