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Conn. firefighters rescue stuck ‘Santa’ 60 feet above the ground

Norwalk firefighters faced a Santa tangled in his gear while rappelling down a high-rise building

By Peter Yankowski
The Hour, Norwalk

NORWALK, Conn. — Firefighters rescued “Santa Claus” on Saturday night after a person dressed as Saint Nick got stuck 60 feet in the air while rappelling down a high-rise building in South Norwalk, the local firefighters’ union said.

There were no injuries reported, including among the responding firefighters, the union said.

The rescue took place during the city’s “Norwalk Holiday Extravaganza,” one of two winter holiday-season events planned this year.

Norwalk firefighters were called to the scene at 50 Washington St., a high-rise that dominates the South Norwalk skyline, around 6:30 p.m. Saturday for an “individual dressed as Santa Claus stuck on the side of the building,” the fire union said in a Facebook post.

The person dressed as Santa had been rappelling down the side of the building as part of the event when his costume got tangled in the rigging and he became stuck some 60 feet above the ground, the Norwalk Professional Fire Fighters Association said.

The apartment building is close to Routes 7 and 15 .

More than a dozen firefighters responded and reached the Santa through a window on the sixth floor of the building, the union said. They attached a safety line to the rappeling Santa, which was anchored inside the building, then removed a window and brought the person inside, the union said.

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