NEW YORK — A New York City woman called 911 just after midnight Tuesday morning when she heard a man's voice speaking from behind her apartment wall.
A resident of 220 East 26th Street in Kips Bay, located on Manhattan's east side, said she heard a crash in her kitchen vent then heard someone yelling for help.
"We received an alarm for a man stuck in a wall," FDNY Chief Patrick Tansey told WPIX-TV.
A man became trapped inside this shaft at an apartment build in Kips Bay, Manhattan, on Jan. 10, 2017. (FDNY via Facebok)
The FDNY said before he called out for help, the man was on the roof, where he removed an exhaust fan and slid five stories down, becoming stuck on the first floor.
"The shaft was so small that his body took up the entire vent," Tansey said. "So, using power tools was out of the question. We had to expose him by hand."
They had to dull the edges of the metal vent to remove him. Once they did they, the man was barely injured. Firefighters found him standing in the vent wearing just his underwear.
Tansey said that the rescue involved more than 40 firefighters.
The resident who called 911 said the man had told her through the wall that he thought he was sliding down into a pool below.
"He had told the occupant who called us something about a pool in the basement, but I don't know," Tansey said.
The man did not appear to be intoxicated. He was taken to the hospital for minor injuries and was released.
