DENVER -- A 21-year-old burglary suspect was stuck in an air vent at a Blackjack Pizza restaurant for hours Friday morning before firefighters arrived to cut his clothes off and free him.

The man was lodged in the small vent above the restaurant's oven.

"I heard a scream, 'I can't breathe.' I shut off the alarm. I looked up and saw this leg," said Josh Guerin, a part-owner of the business who arrived at work at about 6:45 a.m. "He was in a lot of pain."

Video of the roof of the building, at 3535 N. Quebec St., showed a large ventilation fan had been removed from a vent.

Firefighters called to the scene had to cut the vent opern and remove part of the ceiling, but the man was still suspended by his clothes, and wailing in pain. Firefighters cut him free from his jumpsuit and the suspected burglar landed completely naked -- pepperoni and all.

Firefighters said the man was taken to a local hospital to be checked out. He apparently suffered only minor cuts and abrasions, said Denver Fire spokesman Phil Champagne.

Police identified the suspect as Andrew Baca, 21. He is being held for investigation of burglary and criminal mischief.

The man told police that he had been wedged in the 12-inch by 12-inch air duct for five hours before help arrived.

"He claimed that he got beat up, someone threw him on the roof and that's how he got stuck in there," Guerin said.

Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said that doesn't sound plausible.

A firefighter who helped in the rescue said the man was stopped by obstructions in the vent, including one that could have killed him.

"The size of the hole was what, 16 by 16? I think he got enough speed that he hit a couple obstructions, and that's what doomed him. It was just a rod that stuck out and knocked the wind out of him and could have penetrated the abdomen area," said Denver firefighter Chad Kramer.

Jackson said the man was lucky an employee came in to work early and heard his cries for help and the oven didn't turn on automatically.

"He was fortunate. He could have asphyxiated. He could have died," Jackson said.

Firefighters and officers had a few chuckles at the man's expense.

"OK, it's funny," said one passerby, watching the rescue from outside the pizza shop. "I've never seen something so crazy before."

But Guerin said now that it's over he's ready to get back to the pizza-making business, but he doesn't know when he can reopen. There's a lot to replace.

"Got to call the hood company, Ansul Systems, an electrician," Guerin said. "I think it's going to be expensive."

Friday is Guerin's busiest day but he can't open and his 10 employees won't be working.

"I'm pretty upset about it. I'm glad he got caught," Guerin said.

On Thursday, an electrician suffocated when he tried to enter a business in Steamboat Springs through a ventilation shaft.