Child stuck in concrete hole freed by firefighters
Posted May 14, 2026 12:46:15 PM.
Last Updated May 14, 2026 12:46:23 PM.
In less than two weeks, fire officials have helped safely remove two children from precarious situations, the latest happening on Tuesday.
At around 4:07 p.m. on May 12, the communications department at Ottawa fire got a call about a child who was stuck in concrete in Barrhaven. Crews went to the 200 block of Tartan Drive and found a child about 5 years old with their leg inside a concrete hole.
It appeared that the child accidentally stepped into the hole that had previously been used for a fence post, fire officials said in a release. The child was stuck up to the knee in the narrow concrete opening.
Firefighters carefully started digging around the area to expose more of the concrete before using a chisel and a pry bar to break away the cement surrounding the child’s leg and foot.
By 4:34 p.m., the child was safely removed and was not injured.
This is the second time crews have been sought out to help a young child recently.
On May 1, a teacher from Covent Glen Catholic Elementary School in Ottawa’s east end brought a student over to Station 52. The teacher told officials that the child’s finger became stuck inside a toy shovel.
Crews used side cutters to carefully chip away at the plastic toy. The process was lengthy because the hole in the shovel’s handle was a tight fit for the finger, and the child was nervous, the release reads.
“Smarties proved to be the perfect motivation, with a small reward offered after each piece was chipped away,” officials said.
By 1:24 p.m., the child’s finger was removed and uninjured.
