Firehouse.com

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Feb. 8--Updated at 3:12 p.m.

Medina firefighters had to extricate a woman who fell through a rotting floor in the bathroom of her split-level home Monday.

The 58-year old Kenner Drive woman hung suspended after one leg went through the floor that gave away, Medina Fire Chief Bob Painter said.

A leak in the plumbing to the toilet caused extensive water damage to the flooring, he said. Family members had been using a bucket to flush the toilet.

The woman was suspended in a space between the second floor of the house and the garage.

An rescue team built a temporary framework to reinforce floor joists and laid down plywood before they could rescue the woman, Painter said.

Firefighters transported the woman to a local hospital.

The woman's husband and adult son shared the home built in the 1970s, Painter said.

Her son called authorities after his mother fell and became trapped. Her husband was not at home when the incident occurred.

The family knew the floor was rotting, Painter said, and some of the flooring in the room had been removed.

''It appeared the plumbing was leaking for some time,'' he said.

Fire officials locked the house after allowing family members to go back inside briefly to get clothing and medications. They then called in the city building department, which condemned the home.

The American Red Cross was notified and the Department of Health and Family Services is assisting the family, Painter said.