"Chicago Fire" actor Jesse Spencer and his parents needed a real-life rescue during a visit to Illinois' state capitol late last month.
He and his parents, who were visiting from Australia, were with a group of tourists in an elevator of the 19th century building when the elevator suddenly stopped.
"The elevator just jolted ... quite violently. And then people screamed and then we were just stuck there," recalled Spencer, who plays Lt. Matt Casey on the hit NBC drama, during a visit to the NBC Chicago studios.
Spencer said he was wearing a "Chicago Fire" cap that day and was mistaken by some as being a real-life first responder.
"I said, 'No, I'm not [a firefighter] but I play one on TV," he said.
Still, his lack of an official title didn't prevent him from taking action.
"I got near the doors -- the double doors -- and just muscled them open," Spencer said.
Real-life rescue crews eventually showed up to get everyone out.
Thanks Springfield FD saved us from an elevator at the Capitol Building. Stuck for an hour, I muscled the doors open pic.twitter.com/I1BA9GtLm4
— Jesse Spencer (@Jesse_Spencer) April 1, 2014
