(Detroit News) – It was a hot 12 minutes, Sunday afternoon, as Sterling Heights firefighters sawed and pried, working to rescue three little boys, all 3 or 4 years of age, from the human-size gun safe they managed to lock themselves into.

The 911 call on the incident came in about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, on the 13000 block of Maidstone Court, which is south of Metro Parkway and west of Schoenherr.

The safe had just been delivered to the home. It was such a new arrival that the instructions for its use, as well as its combination, were still inside by the time all three boys were locked in.

One of the three boys lived at the home, and the safe belongs to his father. The other two are his friends. They entered the safe at the convincing of a girl, 5. And then the safe shut, somehow.

“They were just playing, doing what kids do, and it happened,” said Fire Chief Chris Martin.

READ MORE››