Teen Gets a Bad Case of the Flue

Santa Claus he’s not.

A teenage Orange boy was plucked from the chimney of a park facility early Tuesday, more than eight hours after his ill-fated pursuit of a wayward football, police and fire officials said.

The 14-year-old, whom authorities declined to identify, descended feet-first into the chimney of a Hart Park recreation building about 9 p.m. Monday to retrieve the ball that had somehow fallen in, said police Sgt. Dave Hill.

Police were alerted by a passing motorist to screams for help coming from the park shortly after 4:45 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Following the voice to the recreation building’s roof, officers found the cold and disoriented boy clutching the football. They called firefighters for assistance.

“When I saw him, I said, ‘Whoa, this is going to be interesting,’ ” said Battalion Chief Frank Eickhoff of the Orange City Fire Department.

Eickhoff said it was his first extraction from a chimney in more than 20 years as a firefighter.

Wedged 8 to 10 feet down the chimney, the boy had stripped off most of his clothing trying to free himself, Hill said.

Firefighters were able to lasso the boy, and three of them hoisted him out of the chimney about 5:30 a.m.

“He was covered in soot from head to toe, and cold,” Hill said. “He had some trouble telling officers information about where he lived.”

The boy was treated for minor scratches at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange and released to his mother.

The mother, Hill said, had last seen the boy in the house Monday night and thought he had gone to bed, unaware of his ordeal until police notified her.