TRAPPED

5:00pm - Devon enters the bathroom. He empties his bladder and washes his hands. He tries to open the door to leave, but it won't open. He calls Silas. I hear them talking through the bathroom door and go to see what all the hooplah is about. I try to open the door. It won't open. The knob will turn in both directions. It can be locked and unlocked. The latch, however, will not move. Devon is trapped in the bathroom

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My dad happens to call and ends up giving Tim some ideas. They don't work. I post on the Sonlight forums and on Facebook, which leads to a variety of suggestions on how to help Devon escape. They don't work. We pass Devon a screwdriver under the door and he removes the doorknob. That doesn't help. Tim explains how to lift the pins out of the hinges. Despite the fact that Devon has one leg on the sink and the other on a counter behind the door, pretty much spread eagle across the back of the door, while trying to use a screwdriver to lift the top hinge pin, he's just a little too short to get it up high enough. The father-in-law of a friend on Facebook spends time on the phone with Tim talking him through some ideas. They don't work.

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Trapped.

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An eyeball peeping through the hole where the doorknob used to be.

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Talking Devon through some possible solutions. Notice the screwdriver wedged in the moulding of the doorframe.

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About 7:00 pm I read the following suggestion on the Sonlight forums.

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Dh said to call a "non-emergency" fire department line and they should send out an engine and get Devon out. With little or no damage to the door. He said they'd be fine about it. They're there to help.

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The fire department? I'd never have thought of that! Since we'd exhausted all options, Tim made the call.

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The truck. No lights. No siren. Just a big truck parked in front of our house. I realize this is the word's worst picture, but it was dark and I didn't want to have to walk out in the yard for a better one. At least this is enough evidence to prove the fire department came.

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Three firefighters arrived, assessed the situation, acknowledged that Tim had already done what they were going to do, asked "is the little guy resourceful?" before giving Devon directions on how to help them from the inside.

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Checking things out. Pulling out tools.
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The rescue begins.

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Doing the exact same thing that Tim did, except it took three firefighters putting all their muscle into it at the same time in order for it to work.
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7:30pm - Devon comes out of the bathroom after two and a half hours of being trapped. It was an adventure, no doubt. He had fun being manly with his tools and trying to get the door open.
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From a distance. Notice the paint shavings on the floor. And the napkin. That's how we slid waffles under the door for Devon to eat.

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The door frame looking somewhat destroyed.

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The hole where the doorknob used to be.

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The door jamb.

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As a result of this ordeal, our annual family Valentine's party got bumped from 6:00 to 8:00, which is bedtime. So, the kids all got to stay up late decorating heart-shaped sugar cookies and opening Valentines from a swap with other Sonlight kids around the country.

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Never a dull moment at our house!