An elderly woman was trapped for more than 15 hours in her home after rubbish she had hoarded for decades fell on her.
Emergency services were called to the Canley Vale, Sydney address on Monday and were forced to break through a side window to gain access.
The crew was almost crushed themselves by the floor-to-ceiling rubbish.
The woman's husband, who sleeps outside in his car because of the mess, became concerned when he rang but couldn't get hold of her.
It took emergency services two hours to wade through the woman's belongings and reach her.
The rescue crew found the woman buried under decades' worth of waste, including magazines from the 80s and expired food from the 90s, 9News Australia reported.
There were also rubbish bags filled with clothes and old-school McDonald's boxes.
Fire and Rescue spokesperson John Moore said the situation was so extreme, rescuers used the same training used to search for survivors after the Christchurch earthquakes.
The woman is receiving hospital treatment.
