Firefighters in Vernon, Connecticut, spent part of their Saturday afternoon freeing a 40-year-old man who became trapped inside a children’s playground slide at a local elementary school.
According to the Vernon Fire Department, the man became stuck around 4:30 p.m. after attempting to navigate the enclosed, twisting tube slide—feet and head first. Fire officials said he appeared to fold himself forward in an effort to shimmy down, ultimately becoming wedged about halfway through.
It’s unclear whether the man was at the playground alone or with others.
Emergency responders initially tried to assist him without damaging the slide, but soon determined that the only safe way to extract him was to cut through the plastic structure. Adding to the urgency were the hot temperatures and direct sun heating the tube, causing the man to become overheated and lightheaded.
While waiting for additional support, medics provided oxygen and set up ventilation to reduce the heat inside the slide. Once a firetruck and crew arrived, they anchored the top of the slide to the truck’s ladder and began cutting into the structure using power tools.
The man was freed within 30 minutes. Photos shared by the fire department show him curled in a fetal position inside the cut-open slide, with a rescuer holding onto his feet. EMS personnel offered to take him for medical evaluation, but he declined.
The slide, unfortunately, was destroyed in the rescue—just two weeks before the new school year begins.
“This was certainly a unique call for service, but the professionalism on scene was exemplary,” the Vernon Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post.
Online commenters responded with a mix of humor and sympathy. “The firefighters were not gonna let that one slide,” one person joked. Others noted the potential psychological distress of being trapped in such a confined space, especially in extreme heat.
Similar incidents have had tragic outcomes. In one case in Arizona, a man believed to be homeless died after becoming trapped in a water slide pipe. His body was only recovered after the entire structure was dismantled.