17-year-old girl who tried to get into her home via chimney had to be rescued by Phoenix firefighters
PHOENIX - Phoenix Fire crews rescued a teenage girl who got stuck in a chimney Wednesday night.
The rescue was streamed live on FOX 10 Phoenix's Facebook page, as well as on FOX News Now. According to a fire spokesperson, the incident happened near 16th Avenue and Baseline Road. The girl was reportedly inside the chimney for more than 1.5 hours.
"She was panicking," said a girl, identified only as "Yasmeen". "She was, like, 'call 911!' She couldn't breathe."
It started out as a good idea for Yasmeen and her 17-year-old friend., After the two were locked out of Yasmeen's home near 19th Avenue and Baseline Road, and after exhausting all other options to get back inside, Yasmeen said her friend decided to climb up on the roof.
"She thought about going down the chimney," said Yasmeen.
That quickly turned into a big mistake, as the 17-year-old got stuck inside the chimney, screaming for help the entire time.
"I didn't know it was blocked in the bottom," said Yasmeen. "I never thought it was blocked on the bottom, so she went down and she started freaking out."
The girl, according to fire officials, was communicating with crews during the rescue. Crews set up a tripod over the chimney and hoisted her out. it took firefighters more than 40 minutes just to get her out.
The 17-year-old was covered in soot, but had a smile on her face when she was freed.
"I don't know what we were thinking," said Yasmeen.
The teen, officials said, was not taken to the hospital because she refused transport. The teen refused to speak with FOX 10 on camera.
As for Yasmeen's parents, they rushed home from the movies, and the are not too happy.
"They were so mad," said Yasmeen. "Really mad."