VANCOUVER, Wash. – It sounded like something out of the popular holiday movie, “A Christmas Story” but it was actually a real-life drama for a Vancouver boy whose tongue got stuck to a flagpole in below-freezing temperatures outside his school Wednesday morning.
Alki Middle School officials called 9-1-1 for help just before 9 a.m. and Clark County firefighters arrived quickly, armed with lots of potential ideas to help the distraught boy. Turns out, the age-old remedy of a splash of warm water did just the trick and the middle school student was happily sipping hot chocolate and nibbling on cookies with firefighters in mere minutes.
“This is a first in my 18 years with the fire district,” said paramedic and firefighter Mike Swanson, who single-handedly rescued the stuck student.
Swanson added that Fire District 6 strongly advises people to not put their tongues on metal poles during extremely low temperatures -- even if someone triple-dog dares them.
A photo released to the media was intentionally blurred out to keep the boy's identity anonymous.
