SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - At first, police did not find anyone when a possible break-in was reported at 3 a.m. at a single-family home in Silver Spring, Maryland.
But when residents said they still heard noises and voices, police returned, and this time, they found a man stuck in the chimney.
The man, who police said did not live in the home, was taken to a nearby hospital under police escort after firefighters spent about 90 minutes freeing him Saturday morning.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer told The Washington Post that authorities believe the man climbed down the chimney and got stuck. When police returned to the home, they tracked noises to an area behind a wall over a fireplace, Piringer said.
Firefighters dismantled parts of the wall and chimney brick by brick, using ladders, lights, shovels and other rescue equipment, photographs and video released by the department show.
Information about the man’s identity was not immediately available.