The firefighters attempted to use soap to lubricate the hole and the raccoon's head, but the animal was still unable to pull free.
Lt. Brian Lorkowski said firefighters initially planned to cut through the cover and free the animal, but they discovered it was made of cast iron.
"So we didn't want to do that," Lorkowski told the Detroit Free Press. "And you know, as you cut, the cast iron was getting hot, so we decided not to go that route, for the safety of the animal."
Lorkowski said the crew ended up getting some help from a nearby homeowner.
"We had the homeowner bring out cooking oil," Lorkowski said. "And that was enough to free the animal. We had someone hold the head kind of and then someone was on the other side pulling the body. And it was able to free itself."
The raccoon was determined to be uninjured and released.
