Ottawa firefighters safely remove little boy’s fingers from bathroom drain

Some scary moments for a little boy in Orléans over the weekend.

Ottawa Fire Services (OFS) responded to a home in the 200 block of Rolling Meadows Crescent shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 16 for a three-year-old boy whose fingers had become stuck in a bathroom drain.

Upon arrival, firefighters confirmed the child’s right index, middle, and ring fingers were inserted past the first knuckle and stuck in the drain of the bathtub on the second floor of the home.

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Crews first tried to remove the fingers using lubricants including soap and conditioner, but were not successful.

At this point, OFS says it became a complex extrication that required using a reciprocating saw to remove a portion of the drain and tub system.

The overflow drain system was removed first, followed by portions of the ABS tub drain, and then firefighters used a rotary tool to cut away the drain so the child could be moved.

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“Firefighters successfully used a rotary tool to cut away the drain and attached tub to allow for the patient to be relocated to the exterior of the home which was a more suitable work area for the final phases,” said OFS in a post on X.

Then came the slow and steady task of removing the child’s hand.

“Slowly and surely, and using appropriate protections — wooden splints and cooling water — two relief cuts were made in the flange using a rotary tool which allowed sufficient movement that all fingers could be removed without damage,” said OFS.

The child was freed shortly after 2:30 p.m., meaning the total extrication process took around three hours.

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