It was a cry for help from a person they couldn't see.
" I tried to see if it was on the inside, on top, or maybe in the basement or in the attic," said Lito Acosta.
Little did he know it was coming from the chimney of a home that neighbors say has been vacant for quite some time.
It was a painful squeeze after being trapped for nearly 10 hours in a chimney.
Thankfully, rescue crews were able to get him out, but it was quite an ordeal for everyone concerned.
" We couldn't gain access to the patient in order to put a harness on him or attach the line se we communicated with him and instead told him to do that for himself," Thomas Cope said of Fresno Fire Department.
Police say this man was trying to hide in the chimney when they were conducting a search for squatters in the neighborhood.
"I thought somebody was in there crying, and sure enough there was," said Acosta.
Strapped in a strechter, dehyrdated and in pain, it was a long day for a man who made a very big mistake and nearly paid for it with his life