Fire rescue crews helped a man after he got stuck inside a storm drainage system in Waiau yesterday afternoon.

Residents along Ho'oma'ike Street called the fire department about noon after hearing someone calling for help, said fire spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada. Firefighters discovered the man stranded in the system and unable to get out, Tejada said.

"We don't know how he ended up down there. The main thing was we wanted for him to come out and he agreed to come out," Tejada said.

The 44-year-old man, a former firefighter, apparently tried to climb out of a manhole, but police said the cover had been paved over. Tejada said fire crews cleared the cover and the man climbed out.

He was taken to the fire department's Waiau station where police questioned him. He was later arrested on two outstanding warrants and taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries and observation, police said.