A man looking for a dropped cellphone ended up in a stinky situation, tumbling into a building's trash chute where he had to be rescued.

Washington, D.C., Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo said the man was throwing out trash at an apartment building in northwest D.C., when he thought he dropped the cellphone in the chute. Maggiolo said the man leaned in to check and fell inside.

Maggiolo said the man was able to call 911 from inside the trash chute around 3 a.m. Sunday, though it wasn't clear what phone he used. A video posted online showed firefighter rescue crews pumping fresh air down the chute to the man through a hose.

They eventually hauled him out using a harness. Maggiolo said the man didn't appear hurt and was released on the scene.