Firefighters pull man from Chinatown chimney in bizarre rescue

ByCeFaan Kim WABC logo
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Firefighters rescue man from chimney in Chinatown
CeFaan Kim has the details from Chinatown.

CHINATOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- It was a bizarre rescue in Manhattan on Saturday morning when firefighters pulled a man from a chimney.

The rescue happened around 7:30 a.m. at a building in Chinatown that appears to have both offices and apartments in it. A source says the man lives in the building, and went up to the roof to smoke, and got locked out.

The man then decided perhaps the chimney was the only way out. He made it down the chimney 13 feet before getting stuck. Firefighters had to extend a ladder to the roof, climb up there, and then throw a rope down the chimney to pull the man to safety. Luckily, right next to the building, at the corner of Canal and Allen Streets is a firehouse.

A FDNY spokesperson says someone ran to the firehouse to help, but it is unclear who that person was.

Eyewitness News does not know if the man was alone on the roof, or how long he was up there for. At this point, there are still more questions than answers.

The man suffered minor injuries, and is expected to be okay.