Nov. 10--ALTON -- A fourth-grade student got her arm trapped in a door handle Friday as she held it open for others at East Elementary School, and rescuers were called to cut her out.
The Alton Fire Department responded to the scene about 9 a.m. to free the girl, Battalion Chief David Eichen said.
"I've never seen anything like it," he said.
Eichen said the girl had propped open the door and was holding it for other students to go through when her elbow slipped behind the U-shaped lever and got stuck. He said the girl tried for five minutes to free herself, and when a teacher discovered she was stuck, school officials called 911.
He said firefighters tried several ways to get her arm out; however, they finally had to use the reciprocating saw and cut the door handle from the front to remove her.
"She spent around 30 minutes with her arm stuck in the door, and she was starting to complain that her arm and hand were numb," Eichen said.
Once the girl was free, paramedics checked her out, and then she went to the nurse's office, where she waited with Eichen until a family member arrived.
"By the time her family arrived, the feeling was coming back, and she said her hand and arm were tingling," he said.
Eichen said the girl was a little shook up at first, but he talked to her to keep her distracted as firefighters worked to remove her.
"She was a little emotional at first, but by the time they freed her, she was doing fine," he said.
Copyright 2012 - The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.
