An apartment-dweller in Washington DC, USA decided to ensure his weekend chores were done right. He put his garbage in a bag, reached the building’s trash chute and let it tumble down. There was one problem, though.

He got a sinking feeling that made him wonder whether he’d dropped his phone. He bent down to check, and ended up falling into the trash chute.

He was lucky and had room to himself in there. He somehow got himself upright, located his phone (whether it was in the trash or was just in his pocket is not known) and called 911.

A rescue crew was despatched, much to his relief and half a dozen firefighters swapped strategies in the hallway to save the victim from his misery.

Of course, never ever try this at home.