On a crisp early February evening, Juan Flores began to notice the smell of sewage filling his room at the 99 Palm Inn & Suites, just outside Tulare on Highway 99.
Moments later, his room s toilet gushed urine and feces, flooding the room in three-quarters of an inch of wastewater.
Onsite managers were not responsive to the problem, even as the sewage continued to seep out of the floor and walls into neighboring rooms, Flores said.
Tulare County firefighters ultimately evacuated a block of the motel after a distressed Flores called 911.
During the evacuation, a Tulare County firefighter and two sheriff s deputies were exposed to fentanyl after they entered a room with a person abusing the drug, authorities said at the time. Hazmat crews responded to the dramatic scene.