Burglar Stuck In Chimney Dies After Homeowner Lights Fire In Fresno County, California


A suspected burglar broke into a home in Fresno County, California, but was never actually able to leave. The man ended up getting stuck in the chimney of the home and then died on Saturday afternoon after the unsuspecting homeowner lit a fire.

According to Fox News, the homeowner had no idea that a burglar, or anyone for that matter, was in his chimney.

chimney burglar dies fire fresno county california
[Image via Fox News]
On Friday night, the burglar climbed up to the top of the top of a home in the city of Huron, California. He then lowered himself into the chimney in hopes of entering the home and robbing it of its belongings, but things didn’t go so well from there.

The burglar ended up getting stuck in the chimney and just stayed there. On Saturday afternoon, the homeowner went to light a fire in his fireplace, but had no idea that anyone was actually stuck in the chimney.

Just before 3 p.m. on Saturday, the homeowner heard the burglar scream from inside the chimney shortly after the fire was lit. He immediately worked at putting the fire out and it caused the home to fill up with smoke.

Yahoo News reported that while the home was filling up with smoke, the homeowners contacted the authorities to let them know of the situation. They continued to try to put the fire out while waiting for firefighters to arrive.

Cal Fire – Fresno County arrived on the scene at the home on the 16000 block of W. Gale Ave just about 10 minutes after the initial call. The suspect in the chimney was said to apparently still be breathing and moving while stuck inside of the chimney.

fresno county california chimney burglar dies
[Image by Connie Tran]
Firefighters began disassembling the chimney to get the burglar out of the chimney and after a short while, they were able to remove him. While attempting to rescue the man, they soon discovered that he was dead.

A preliminary investigation done by the police show that no wrongdoing was done by the homeowner. No one within the home had any idea that someone was in the chimney at the time they lit the fire as the suspect had crawled into it overnight in an attempt to rob the home.

The suspect’s body was removed from the scene in Fresno County, California, by the Coroner’s Office. An autopsy is going to be performed to identity not only the cause and exact manner of death, but also his identity.

Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Jake Jensen has been on the job for a really long time, and he was extremely shocked by the happenings of Saturday afternoon.

“I’ve been a deputy for almost 17 years now, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

A similar situation happened in Phoenix, Arizona, during the summer when a 23-year-old man got stuck in the chimney after his friends locked him out of the house as a joke.

As NBC News reported, the friends gave the man options for entering the house and he chose one that “proved to be a bad decision.” Around 3 a.m., firefighters got the call to come rescue him which took about half an hour for the rescue.

He was covered in soot, but escaped injury of any kind.

The case of the burglar getting stuck in a chimney in Fresno County, California, and then dying after the homeowner lit a fire is still an ongoing investigation. Police are working to learn more details around the situation and interviewing witnesses to find out more details about the case.

[Image via Getty Images/Stock4B]

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