Before losing arm, Connecticut man cleaning furnace was stuck 12 hours

HARTFORD, CONN. -- Jonathan Metz had his left arm stuck in his furnace boiler for about 12 hours when he concluded that amputation was his only chance for survival.

The 31-year-old West Hartford man, who was released from the hospital Monday, met with reporters Tuesday for the first time since getting his arm stuck in his furnace for two days and nearly cutting it off.

Metz said he had been trying to clean the heating vents on his boiler when he dropped either a brush or a vacuum attachment inside. He was reaching in to retrieve it when his arm became stuck between the funnel-like fins of the boiler.

When he tried to pull it out, the fins tightened on his arm, cutting into it. The more he struggled, the more it cut, and the more his arm swelled.

Eventually, he began noticing signs of infection and the smell of rotting flesh, and he began to think he had to cut the limb off. Doctors said the partial self-amputation prevented the spread of the infection and saved his life.

As he spent six hours psyching himself up for the procedure, he tried to yank the arm out, used dirty oil from a catch basin to try to grease it, and finally he looked to his tool box, which was within reach.

His fantasy, he said, was that he could cut off the arm, run upstairs and put it in his freezer, call 911, then go to the hospital and get it reattached. He nearly succeeded but couldn't make it through a bundle of nerves.

Friends and co-workers grew worried when Metz did not show up for work Tuesday and missed a softball game. Police found him in the basement.