Deaths inside chimneys happen occasionally

SANDUSKY — Deaths from getting stuck in a chimney are not common, but they do happen, according to officials from the Chimney Safety Institute of America."It's a terrible idea to try to access a house through a chimney," said Russ Dimmitt, director of education for the Chimney Safety Institute. "It's just a bad idea. It unfortunately happens occasionally."The body of missing Port Clinton teen Harley Dilly, 14, was found by police late Monday evening inside a brick chimney inside a house in the 500 block of Fulton in Port Clinton. It is a summer home and is not currently occupied. Dimmitt and Darcy Marlett, spokeswoman for the Chimney Safety Institute, both said they are unaware of anyone who keeps statistics of deaths of people stuck inside chimneys, so it's not clear exactly how often it happens. But it's not hard to find examples.A 2015 Associated Press story described how the remains of Joshua Vernon Maddux, 18, had been found in the chimney of an abandoned cabin in Woodland Park, Colo. Maddux had been missing for seven years, since May 2008.A 1989 article, also by the AP, described a burglar who attempted to use a chimney to break into a Middle Eastern restaurant in Brooklyn, N.Y. The burglar was found dead of asphyxiation the next day when the restaurant's owner came in to open for business."I saw these feet sticking out of the vent," restaurant owner Victor Bar said. "It really scared the hell out of me."Often in these situations, that Dimmitt has heard about, somebody is trying to access a building to burglarize it.But despite the Santa myth, most chimneys are a poor way to get into a building, Dimmitt said."Your typical chimney flue is way too small for somebody to get down," Dimmitt said.The reported dimensions of the chimney flue Harley Dilly apparently died in, 13 inches by 9 inches, are common and not wide enough for a person to get through, Dimmitt said.Port Clinton police chief Rob Hickman also said the chimney was blocked between the first and second floors.Dimmitt said the people his industry works with are trained to have fall protection on when they access roofs. But if they have a harness on and hang too long, they risk asphyxiation or having blood flow cut off."If you hang too long, it can be bad for you," he said. "You have to be able to self-rescue once your fall's arrested."Chimneys in English cottages.