Portland firefighters called to remove titanium smart ring from woman's finger

Yahoo

19-02-2025

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters were called to perform an emergency ring removal on Feb. 15 after a woman's finger swelled up around an Oura smart ring that was too tough to remove with basic tools.
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A special firefighter crew was called to an urgent care center in East Portland around noon Saturday after hospital staff and an initial firefighter crew that responded to the emergency were unable to remove the ring, Portland Fire & Rescue spokesperson Rick Graves told KOIN.
'The initial 911 call was taken by a truck company near the Lloyd Center, but it turned out their equipment wasn't robust enough to address this incident,' Graves said. 'So one of the heavy rescues in the city responded to assist.'
The ring's titanium shell and electronic circuitry were too tough to cut with a spinning ring-cutter, PF&R said. The unique job required a diamond-tipped blade only carried by two PF&R crews.
'The outer shell of titanium and inner componentry were far too much for a traditional hand spinning ring-cutter,' PF&R shared on social media. '[Firefighters used] a diamond-tipped blade on a handheld rotary tool along with some modified silverware to act as a protective shield and a little water to keep everything cooled off.'
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It's unclear what caused the woman's hand to swell around the smart ring. PF&R firefighters successfully removed the ring with the diamond-tipped equipment.
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