A 5-year-old boy needed the help of firefighters Friday to free his thumb from the dock pole it was stuck in at the Sylvan Lake public access.
Between 8-9 p.m., the boy and his family were at the access in East Gull Lake to fish from the dock, said Pillager Fire Chief Randy Lee, when his curiosity got the best of him.
"He was inquisitive and he stuck his thumb in the hole," Lee said. "I know how many kids stick their fingers in places they shouldn't. We do day care."
Lee said once the boy's thumb was in the hole drilled into the metal pole, it was difficult to remove without injury because of interior barbs. The barbs caught on the boy's skin, cutting it when he tried to pull it out.
The fire department deployed some low-tech tools to release the boy's thumb-dish soap and a long screwdriver. The dish soap was deployed to lubricate the thumb, while the screwdriver was used to push back the interior barbs.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It wasn't a lot of work. It just a little careful work," Lee said.
Lee said once the boy was free, his parents transported him to a nearby grandparent's home, where a small bandage was all that was needed to treat the boy's cuts.
North Memorial Ambulance and a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also responded to the incident.
