A San Diego woman who was locked out of her home during a family quarrel became trapped head-first in a chimney after attempting to slide down the flue into the residence.
Before she attempted the unorthodox break-in, the 31-year-old was hurling objects off the rooftop Sunday shortly before 5 pm, police said.
Woman spends one hour stuck head-first down CHIMNEY after getting locked out during family argument https://t.co/vCcaqJcljC
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) February 22, 2022
By the time cops arrived, the situation had escalated as the unidentified woman was trapped in the middle of the chimney, OnScene.TV reported.
She was extricated from the predicament by firefighters after being stuck for about an hour, and transferred to a local hospital for a psychological evaluation.
Video from the scene showed firefighters discussing how to carry out the rescue at the brick bungalow in the city's Paradise Hills neighborhood.
Once they'd established a strategy, crews gently hoisted the woman back up the chimney and transported her via stretcher to a waiting ambulance.
San Diego Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Tommy Charpentier said when crews initially arrived, they confirmed the woman was stuck upside down in the flue, with her feet sticking up.
Her head was about six feet off the ground, and she was about 10 feet from the top of the chimney, he said.
'We had crews put a plan into place and started working multiple angles,' Charpentier told OnScene.TV.
Woman rescued after getting stuck upside down in chimney in San Diego's Paradise Hills. @SDFD says her head ended up about 6 feet off the ground and her feet were about 8 to 10 feet from the top. https://t.co/Xf0qQnpsO6
— Steve Lessner (@SteveLessner) February 22, 2022
'We had crews inside that were attempting to breach the wall to access her, as well as crews go to the roof of the house and use a tripod and a rope and wench system. And that's how we ended up getting her out.'
He said that the situation is tricky because they wanted to rescue the women quickly, but did not want to compromise her safety with a rushed job.
The extent of her injuries were unknown.
It wasn't the first time a woman tried - and failed - to sneak into her house through the chimney.
Last June, an 18-year-old Nevada woman who was locked out of her home tried to gain access via the chute, only to get stuck.
She was also rescued by local fire crews using a similar rope extraction procedure.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
