A Connecticut man is likely breathing a sigh of relief thanks to a team of firefighters and other emergency personnel who rescued him after he became stuck inside a tube slide at a children’s playground on a hot August day.
Rescuers found the 40-year-old man, who has not been publicly identified, “wedged feet and head first down the slide” while “stuck in the middle portion” when they responded to a call just after 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Northeast Elementary School playground in Vernon, Connecticut, according to a statement from the Vernon Fire Department.
Vernon Emergency Services personnel administered oxygen to the man, who was “in extreme discomfort” while inside the slide amid the day’s “hot temperatures,” the fire department said.
Firefighters created “ventilation” to help “cool the space” where the man was stuck while they worked to free him.
Using extrication tools, firefighters removed a portion of the slide to reach the man, the statement said. They used ropes attached to one fire engine’s aerial ladder as “a high point to stabilize the section of slide” that firefighters were removing.
The man was freed within 30 minutes and was evaluated by emergency personnel at the scene. He refused additional treatment and transport to a local emergency room.
The fire department did not respond to a request for additional information.
The Vernon Fire Department provided more than a dozen photos from its rescue effort. One image shows firefighters on the ground holding a portion of the tube slide that had been removed. Above them, another rescuer helps the man to climb out of the slide to safety.
“While this is a unique call for service for the fire department, the professionalism shown on scene was exemplary,” the department said.
