Vermont: Man Found Stuck In Chimney

[Lil Bit Special]

http://www.wptz.com/news/18622390/detail.html

Man Couldn't Remember How He Got Into Chimney

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Apparently Santa Claus isn't the only one who goes down chimneys in the winter.

Burlington police received a report of a man crying for help in the downtown area early Sunday morning and went to the scene to investigate. When police arrived in the area, they heard the man's cries for help and followed the sound until they found footprints in the snow on the roof of a building located at 184 Main St.

The footprints led to a chimney where officers found a man stuck inside. The man did not live in the building. He was conscious and told police he had been stuck for several hours. The man told police he had no idea how he got there.

Kathryn Rohrer, in an apartment across the alley, saw rescuers pull the man out."You couldn't help but watch to make sure he was OK," she said.

Earlier that night, she heard muffled shouting."I really didn't think anything of it until I literally heard someone responding back, and then, you turn off the TV and realize there is someone saying help," Rohrer said. "When firefighters got to the roof, they say they could see the man's arm sticking out of the chimney. They said they tried to get him out with a rope but that didn't work. So, they had to take this thing apart brick by brick, and even a day later, you still can see there's quite a bit of damage here to the roof."

Three teams of firefighters responded to the scene and secured a rope to the man's outstretched arm, according to Burlington fire officials. Firefighters tried to pull him out of the chimney, but were unsuccessful.Firefighters eventually had to disassemble the chimney and were able to free the man at about 6:45 a.m.

"They smashed it and then took a ladder up the side and had to break in through the side of the building," said Michael Woodhouse, a witness. "The whole time, they were screaming to get the furnace turned off."

Witnesses said the man was covered in soot when they finally pulled him free. The man was transported to Fletcher Allen Health Care for evaluation and treatment for his injuries, fire officials said.

"He said he'd been drinking with his brother and didn't know how he got on to the roof," Woodhouse said."They didn't seem to necessarily believe his story, you know, that he just happened to blindly end up in a chimney. You know, they thought maybe he was up to no good, you know?" Woodhouse said.Fire officials did not release the man's name or any information on his condition.The man has not been charged with a crime.

[Thai Jet]

Vermont ? Has anyone heard from assmop today ?