About 87.6% were connected to a public sewage system and 11.8% used a cesspit. The ashes were then thrown into the cesspit, the moat, or other hiding places. Such a tank is referred to in the U.K. as a cesspit. Simmons dumped the bodies in a cesspit he had forced his children to dig previously. Two workers in a decommissioned cesspit were trapped, subsequently leading to a two-hour rescue mission. The typical cesspit was cleaned out once every 8 to 10 years. The city had widened the street and the cesspit was lost. It was common at the time to have a cesspit under most homes.