“Help!,” a man called repeatedly after falling about 40 feet last week and landing in a small space between a downtown St. Paul parking garage and building.

He dialed 911 from his cellphone and reported he woke up in the middle of an alley and was between buildings. He said he couldn’t move his leg. He conveyed that he was near Cedar Street and Kellogg Boulevard, but didn’t know exactly where.

Police officers searched the area, though finding the man was difficult as his voice echoed between the buildings and around the parking ramp, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman. After nearly an hour, two officers found the man and firefighters set up a complicated rescue.

The leaders of the St. Paul police and fire departments praised their employees’ work on Friday.

“I’m incredibly proud of our officers,” said Police Chief Todd Axtell. “They knew someone was in trouble and needed help — and they never gave up. Thanks to their persistence, and the exceptional work of the St. Paul Fire Department, the man survived and is expected to recover. If not for the great work of our public servants, this story could have had a different, more tragic ending.”

The police and fire departments said it’s a mystery how the man wound up between the Capital City Plaza Parking Ramp, on East Fourth Street near Cedar Street, and the building next to it.

Paramedics took the man to Regions Hospital with a badly broken leg, Ernster said.

“He was in a very precarious situation,” said St. Paul Acting Fire Chief Matt Simpson. “The only way he could get into that predicament was falling from the second level of the parking garage. … He was unable to get out due to his injuries and the position he had fallen into.”

Firefighters could get to the man only from above — from the garage’s second level, Simpson said. They reached him using ladders and ropes. On the ground, firefighters had little room to work because there was only a 3 to 4 foot span between the parking garage and the building next to it.

Firefighters pulled the man out, using a rescue basket, Simpson said.

The man’s initial 911 call came on Nov. 9 about 11:45 p.m. He was confused and asking the 911 calltaker what happened to him, according to Ernster. He said he was cold. It was 12 degrees just before midnight and even more frigid with the wind chill, Simpson said.

“Time was definitely of the essence,” he said.

But the man’s calls with 911 kept disconnecting and the Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center continued calling him back, Ernster said. Two people who live in the area also called 911 and reported hearing a man yelling for help.

“It was really hard to pinpoint where he was — the officers couldn’t tell if he was actually in the parking ramp or if his voice was traveling into the parking ramp and echoing,” Ernster said.

Body camera footage from Officer Cody Blanshan captured the moment that he and Officer Joshua Boon found the man about 12:40 a.m.

After that, it took firefighters 30 to 40 minutes to get the man to safety, Simpson said.