Rescue crew saves man from washing machine

There is an old theory about getting out of the household chores: If you do a bad enough job, no one will ever ask you to do it again.

A Sydney man seems to have taken the tactic to new heights by becoming trapped in a washing machine for hours until a rescue crew arrived to free him.

The rescue crew had to design a method of freeing the man on the fly. Photo: Bankstown Fire and Rescue
The rescue crew had to design a method of freeing the man on the fly. Photo: Bankstown Fire and Rescue

Bankstown Fire and Rescue posted photographs of the unorthodox rescue operation on July 26 to its Facebook page earlier this week.

The 22-year-old Lakemba man, who Fairfax Media reports is mildly autistic, became trapped in the front-loader up to his waist for close to three hours before fire fighters arrived to free him.

It took about an hour to free the hapless launderer. Photo: Bankstown Fire and Rescue
It took about an hour to free the hapless launderer. Photo: Bankstown Fire and Rescue

“This job was interesting as the crew had not performed a washing machine rescue before however under direction from Station Officer David Cross the crew implemented a plan to extract the patient by disassembling the washing machine,” the Facebook post said.

The platoon systematically dismantled the machine, stabilising the washing drum and removing the outer casing to allow the man to be cut free.

The trapped gentleman escaped the ordeal unhurt. The same cannot be said of the washing machine. Photo: Bankstown Fire and Rescue
The trapped gentleman escaped the ordeal unhurt. The same cannot be said of the washing machine. Photo: Bankstown Fire and Rescue

It took workers about an hour to free the man, who was then taken to hospital as a precaution.

It is not known how he became stuck.

According to the Facebook post, fire crews are often called to deal with a wide range of rescues, including everything from ring removals to industrial entrapments.

Laundry mishaps were new territory for the Bankstown crew though.

Morning news break – August 19