Kids locked in gun safe rescued by Sterling Heights firefighters

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WJBK) - Firefighters had a one-of-a-kind call Sunday when they were called to rescue a group of young children who had become locked inside a gun safe.

The Sterling Heights Fire Department says the safe had just been delivered to the home when some neighbor kids got locked inside.

To complicate matters, the instructions and combination were locked inside with them -- and, temperatures in metro Detroit were near the 90s this weekend.

Firefighters got to the house quickly in the 13000 block of Maidstone, and worked to get the children out. A 3-year-old boy and two 4-year-old boys were trapped inside.

"We pulled up; there was quite a few bystanders, family members waving us over. There was a small safe, about four feet tall, that was sitting in the garage that had just been delivered," says firefighter Jonathan Feil.

"Their bodies were fit together like legos," say Sgt. Tracy Davis. "They used every inch of area that there was."

Before the rescue, Feil says says the family was able to take off a little plastic opening on the back to get the kids some airflow.

Fire Chief Chris Martin says the crew had to use a combination of the "jaws of life" and a reciprocating saw. They were able to get the top of the safe off and the children weren't hurt, but they did need some help getting their body temperatures down.

Martin says the kids were rinsed off in the bathtub to cool then down. The crew says the kids were exhausted, and that they were soaked head-to-toe with sweat.

The rescue took about 10-15 minutes.

Martin added in a Facebook post that Sunday was "quite the day" for his crew, as, after helping the kids, they were called to a fire in a home that was being renovated. That fire was caused by oily rags that were being used to refinish the floors, and the estimated damages to the house are $100,000.

Several people commented on the post giving kudos to the crew, which is from Engine 4 and Rescue 1.

The kids got to tour the fire station and were able to thank the firefighters for their help.