Firefighters Free Alabama Teen Who Got Stuck Inside a Giant Barney Head

It's all fun and games until someone gets stuck in a giant Barney dinosaur head.

June 21, 2016, 5:59 PM
Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.
Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.
Courtesy Darby Risner

— -- It's all fun and games until someone gets stuck in a giant Barney dinosaur head.

That's what happened to 15-year-old Darby Risner of Trussville, Alabama, on Sunday night, when the teen said she found a giant Barney head at a friend's house.

Risner told ABC News today she had wanted to scare her friends with it when they came downstairs, but the prank turned into a joke on her when she couldn't get out of the oversized dinosaur head.

When Risner sat down, she said the head "wobbled and scooched down" over her shoulders, stopping just above her elbows and giving her "short little Barney arms."

PHOTO: Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.
Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.

"All the girls started trying to pull it off, but it wasn't budging," Risner said. "I started getting a little claustrophobic and felt like it was kind of closing in."

At one point, Risner said her friends tried to rub Vaseline all over her arms. Though the head moved up a bit, it still didn't come up all the way, she said.

One of Risner's friends had a boyfriend at the Trussville Fire Department, so they called to ask for help.

PHOTO: Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.
Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.

But since Risner and her friend's mother didn't want to "alarm the whole neighborhood with sirens," she said they decided to drive to the fire station rather than have the trucks come there.

"Soon enough, we saw a group of young girls waddling with one who had a Barney head stuck on her," said Trussville Fire Department Lt. Vince Bruno. He told ABC News the sight was a "first" in his 33-year career at the department.

PHOTO: Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.
Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.

"It was definitely amusing, but of course, we had to take it seriously, too," Bruno said. He explained that he and a few other firefighters tried to pull off the head but to no avail at first.

They then made a few "release cuts" into the head made of fiberglass, which then allowed them to "slide it right off," Bruno said.

PHOTO: Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.
Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.

The fire lieutenant added that the fire department and girls had a few laughs about the incident, which he said was "definitely a story to look back on an tell for generations to come."

Risner's mother, Audrey Shannon, told ABC News today she only learned about her daughter's "adventure" on Monday.

PHOTO: Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.
Firefighters in Trussville, Aalabama, helped 15-year-old Darby Risner get out of a giant 'Barney' head she got stuck inside of on June 19, 2016.

"When my girlfriend told me, 'So did you hear about Darby's little adventure?' I was a little worried at first," Shannon said. "But then when I found out it was all about the Barney head, I laughed so hard. All the mascara ran off my face."

Risner told ABC News though the incident was embarrassing, she's learning to laugh about it -- and the subsequent memes that have since spread online.