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Rescuers Free Boy Stuck in Washer

Tue Feb 5, 11:27 AM EST

Talk about an oversized load: A 4-year-old boy got stuck when he climbed into his family's top-loading washing machine, and firefighters had to use a metal cutter to slice into the appliance to get him out.

Donovan Hasseman, who wasn't hurt, was wedged up against the agitator with a knee folded against his chest, while the machine was empty and not running Sunday night, Dover Fire Capt. Mike Mossor said.

Firefighters responding to a 911 call from the boy's mother tried to help him wriggle out, but he couldn't move, Mossor said. The owner of an appliance store was then called in for advice on how to take the washer apart.

The fire department wound up using its hydraulic "jaws-of-life" tool normally used to remove crash victims from wrecked vehicles to cut through the machine's walls and plastic tub.

The child cried and screamed at times while stuck but was calm once he was freed, Mossor said.

A hospital looked him over then released him, and he was given a stuffed bear which the family has named Agitator.