At about 12:20 a.m. Dec. 31, Prince George’s County Public Safety Agencies were alerted to a subject trapped within a chimney. Firefighters/Medics, the Fire/EMS Department’s Technical Rescue Team and Law Enforcement Officers arrived at a 2-story combined residence/commercial structure in the 4000 Block of Bladensburg Road.

A quick survey of the scene confirmed that a 19 year-old-female was stuck in a chimneystack in the area around the fireplace flu assembly.  Firefighters/Medics assessed the victim and determined that she was not in any immediate danger or medical distress.

With some quick thinking and ingenuity firefighters used teamwork and a unified incident command to rescue the victim.  One team of firefighters reconfigured the height of a stool and placed it inside the fireplace under the dangling feet of the victim to provide support and stayed in verbal contact with the victim. Simultaneously, members of the Technical Rescue Team devised plans to free the victim.

The chimneystack was 2-stories tall, approximately 24-feet, and the victim was trapped 14 feet into the structure.  The Technical Rescue Team determined the exact location of the victim and with the assistance of additional firefighters safely removed a portion of the second floor wall and chiseled away the chimney structure directly above the victim’s head.

Just before 2 a.m. the opening was large enough for firefighters to reach into the chimneystack and pull the female to safety.  She was immediately evaluated by paramedics and as a precaution was transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation and treatment.

Prince George’s County Fire Chief Lawrence H. Sedgwick, Jr., stated, “A safe and well-coordinated endeavor by the volunteer and career members of the Fire/EMS Department resulted in the successful rescue of a trapped victim from within a confined space and mitigated a potentially dangerous and precarious situation.”

The Prince George’s County Police Department was on the scene and will be investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.