Firefighters freed man's unwelcome wife trapped in chimney

Firefighters spent two hours working to free a woman stuck in a fireplace at a Woodcrest, California, home early on Saturday. Tony Hernandez, the homeowner, identified the woman as the mother of his children, and says he did not want her in the house.



The 35-year-old woman was reported stuck at about 5am. Hernandez got up for work at around 4:30am when he heard his wife calling his name. He checked the front and backyards, but couldn't find her. "She called me back again, and I said, 'Where are you at?' And she said, 'I'm trapped in the chimney.' So I tried to get her out from the top but it was too hard," he said.

Hernandez said he nearly fell off the roof trying to rescue her, and that's when he called 911. His wife said she told him she had knocked and rang the doorbell during the night. Hernandez said he did not hear anything. The woman was taken to the hospital for minor injuries and is expected to be okay.



Hernandez said he believes she tried to get in through the chimney because it was so cold outside. According to Hernandez, his wife stops by the home time and again to see their children. The children were not home at the time of the incident. The damage to Hernandez's chimney is expensive, and he says it will have to be rebuilt.

With news video.