Valentine’s Day Adventure Took Plenty of Heart : Rescue: Firefighters dismantle fireplace to free stuck boy, 9, who tried to climb down the chimney to impress mother.

Jeffrey Miller, 9, has many Valentine’s Days to look forward to, but few will be as memorable as Tuesday, the day he got stuck in his chimney.

Jeffrey, who told a rescuer later that he had been sent home from school early for disciplinary reasons, decided to play on the roof. Then, to impress his mother, he said, he decided to climb down the chimney.

“He didn’t have anything to do today,” said Mel Wright, an engineer for the Westminster Fire Department.

About three feet above the fireplace, he landed in the flue.

Lisa Miller, Jeffrey’s mother, said that at first, “I thought it was a bird. (That) happens all the time.” When she realized it was Jeffrey, she called 911.

A dozen firefighters worked for 40 minutes dismantling the fireplace brick by brick.

“He was just screaming and yelling and more or less getting panicky,” Wright said. “He wasn’t complaining of pain or anything, he just couldn’t move.”

Miller could only watch as firefighters worked to free her son. She said later, “It’s frightening because you can’t help him.”

“He’s an active, inventive little boy and I have to watch him,” she said. “I wouldn’t say he climbs down the chimney on a daily basis.”

Firefighters freed him at 3:08 p.m. and gave him oxygen while other rescuers examined him. He was covered with soot but otherwise in good health, paramedics said. He was treated at Huntington Beach Medical Center for a twisted ankle and abrasions.

“He should be fine,” said Rene Fox, director of public relations for the hospital.

An official from Hayden Elementary School, where Miller is in the third grade, would not say why he was sent home. Told that Jeffrey had become stuck in the chimney, the official, who asked to remain unnamed, laughed and said, “Only Jeff could have done something like that.”

Fire Department officials said Jeffrey was somewhat lucky, and cautioned that people can suffocate when they become trapped in chimneys.

Asked why he did it, Jeffrey answered, “Crazy, I guess.”