Firefighters rescue woman from railroad signal tower in Modesto

A woman who climbed the railroad signal tower off I Street between Eighth and Ninth streets on Wednesday afternoon had to be rescued by Modesto firefighters using a ladder truck.

A train was held up on the Union Pacific tracks, and southwest traffic on I Street was blocked by the ladder truck.

“Sorry for wasting your time, guys,” Rita Dedios called to firefighters as she was being helped down. She then walked over and apologized to Fire Chief Sean Slamon.

Dedios said she climbed the tower because “I wanted to wave to everyone.”

The report of the woman on the signal tower went out about 2:15 p.m. Dedios was safely on the ground about 20 minutes later.

No law enforcement was on the scene during the rescue, so Slamon said Dedios was free to be on her way. A police officer driving by after Dedios had walked away pulled into where firefighters were wrapping up.

Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves said a trespassing charge likely would depend on whether the railroad sought it.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Firefighters rescue woman from railroad signal tower in Modesto."