SAN FERNANDO, Calif. — Firefighters rescued a woman trapped in a small chimney in California on Tuesday.
Video shows as Los Angeles firefighters were working to free the woman from the chimney.
The incident took place at a municipal facility in the City of San Fernando Recreation Center on N. Park Avenue. Authorities noted that the compact structure serves as a storage space.
According to LAFD, an approximately 30-year-old woman was discovered about three feet deep within the chimney/exhaust flue.
Personnel from the L.A. Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Team used a ladder to access her position, employing a harness to lift her safely out of the chimney.
Video shows the crew lifting the woman out of the chimney. Over a dozen firefighters stood on the roof as they worked to free the woman.
Ultimately, she was hoisted out and brought to the roof, where she was secured to a stretcher and then gently lowered to the ground using the ladder as a makeshift crane.
The woman was alert and conscious as she was loaded into an ambulance and taken away from the scene.
“It’s crazy! You would think it’s a show that somebody put on, and the show is over, but it wasn’t a show. It’s reality,” said witness Jose Rivera.
Witnesses say the woman was acting erratically before she got stuck.
“I noticed a woman on the rooftop. She was adjusting her clothing as if dancing,” described observer Israel Olivas. “I circled back and saw her hands emerging from the chimney. She was desperately yelling, ‘Help! Help! Help!'”
“Initially, we heard her cries and thought she might be joking,” shared Rivera. “However, the worry escalated when she exclaimed, ‘I’m hurt. I need assistance and I can’t get out,’ which prompted people to take her seriously.”
One observer mentioned discovering a half-empty tequila bottle in the woman’s backpack, though it’s uncertain whether she had consumed alcohol prior to the incident.
It’s unknown how the woman became stuck in the first place.
LAFD said the rescue was complete at 8 p.m.
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