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Man rescued from Phoenix chimney after prank goes wrong

By Ben Hooper
Phoenix firefighters help a 23-year-old man out of the hole punched in a home's chimney. KNXV-TV video screenshot
Phoenix firefighters help a 23-year-old man out of the hole punched in a home's chimney. KNXV-TV video screenshot

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PHOENIX, July 6 (UPI) -- Phoenix firefighters used drills and a sledgehammer to punch a hole in a house and rescue a man who became stuck in a chimney as part of a practical joke gone wrong.

The Phoenix Fire Department said firefighters responded about 3 a.m. Sunday to a confined space rescue call from a home on the north side of the city and they arrived to find a 23-year-old man was trapped inside the house's chimney.

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Capt. Aaron Ernsberger said friends of the man told firefighters they locked him outside of the house as a practical joke and he attempted to get back into the residence by shimmying down the chimney.

The man was rescued within 30 minutes of firefighters arriving on the scene, Ernsberger said.

The department shared video of the man emerging from the hole covered in black soot.

The man did not appear to be injured, but was taken to a local hospital for examination, firefighters said.

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