Fire service defends duck rescue

[Chris Houston]

Fire service defends duck rescue  

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/6937450.stm

A fire service which sent three fire engines and a rescue boat to save a trapped duck has said it was not a waste of resources.
The bird had been trapped in a drainage tunnel for five days at Earlswood Lakes, near Solihull, West Midlands, during the recent floods.

One of the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service crews was summoned from Rugby - 35 miles from the incident.

Firefighters managed to free the bird after its owner called 999.

A spokeswoman denied the rescue was a waste of money and said there were no other calls to deal with at the time.

The spokeswoman said: "It's debatable whether a 999 call should have been made, but people do do it sometimes, and this is part of the service firefighters provide.

"This certainly wasn't a waste of resources. It's all a matter of prioritising which incidents to attend and it may have been that there were no other calls at the time."

She said that the firefighters would have left the duck if a more urgent call had come in.

[Chris Houston]

What are people's thoughts?  Is saving a duck good use of resources? What about a dog, or a horse or a pet rat? Where is the line drawn?

[Mr. P]

The line is drawn (if a mallard) just below the ring on it's neck. That's where you aim for with the cleaver. Now, a goose would have been much better ( bigger, feed more), but if it had been the one who laid the golden egg, well...  Horse meat is fine too.

On a more serious note, this sort of PR will always rub up good and bad.  Most is what the media editors decide depending if they are feeling soft and cuddly or otherwise.  A bit much to bring a crew out 35 miles.  it would be interesting to hear how the 999 receiving operator interpreted the call.  Some people are affectionately known as 'me old duck'.  So it could be the Op thought it was a person.

Nay lad, it's all gone to rats, some are barking mad but I'm just quackers.  Wheres the orange sauce?

[G]

What are people's thoughts?  Is saving a duck good use of resources? What about a dog, or a horse or a pet rat? Where is the line drawn?

It comes down to the PDA of the perticular brigade involved.

I believe the LFB still send a pump, another pump from one of 4 stations that carries animal rescure gear, and a senior officer. This is all well and good for a larger animal, but a duck?

One wonders what they send to an AFA with humans potentially involved? One pump if your lucky.

On the subject of o.t.t attendances, anyone from London will know the PDA for any form of structural collapse.

Last month we had a motor car into a 4ft garden wall, nothing unusual, but because the garden wall had 'collapsed' there was in excess of 20 (That does say twenty) different machines / officers mobilised on the initial attendance.

Carbon footprint? What carbon footprint........

[wee brian]

If they had nothing else to do why not- it acts as training for the crews - they may have to rescue a person from a pipe or something in the futre and this may have been good practice for them.

Beter than mocking it up in the training yard.

[Wiz]

If a bloke can get into a pipe that a duck can't get out of, we should all turn up to have a look!

[kurnal]

My old brigade would turn out to any animal rescue if requested by an RSPCA inspector, and to farm animals - horses cows sheep dogs on a 999 call.
Things like birds stuck in trees (yes it happened-fishing line) and cats in trees would require the RSPCA call though. I have some pics of one job of a cow trapped on a roof.
As an animal lover I would support any humanitarian act to relieve suffering provided that if another call came in crews were in a position to respond.

[messy]

I query the PR spokesperson's quote "that the firefighters would have left the duck if a more urgent call had come in"

I wonder if that is true. In most cases, when an appliance and crew are at an incident, they are there - unavailable for other calls- until it's dealt with. Perhaps W Mids do it differently.

As for attending duck shouts? I am not sure, but I am more angry at the crew parking on a yellow line outside Tescos on their way back to the station just to buy some orange sauce. Personally, I would have parked in the car park and in any case, I prefer duck in hoi sin sauce.

[Cut Fire Service Pay]

One pump should have been ideal but in this risk assesed world we now work in I think the attendece was about right!

[mole]

take in to account the sector commanders safty officers and the safty officers safety officers there would have been just enough ffs to effect the ducks rescue

[Andy Cole]

We only attend if the RSPCA requests us to and don't respond on blues and twos unless either the OIC specifically requests it or the animal is in distress! We are also always available for other urgent calls.

It isn't true to say that when appliances are at an incident they are never available for other calls it depends entirely on what the nature of the incident they are attending is and what they are doing at the incident. for example, crews are always available when attending animal rescues or flooding incidents (again, unless the oic states otherwise in an informative message), also crews can still be at an incident but finishing off so they are available for other calls. There is nothing to stop control asking whether they are available if another call comes in!

[Andy Cole]

Anyone ever had a cow stuck in a tree?, yep it's true I swear, about 7am on New Years Day aswel!!

[Rich]

When you say cow do you mean of the bovine variety?

[Chris Houston]

One more gold medal for Rich :lol:

[Dinnertime Dave]

Sorry to reintroduce an old thread but, consider this mobilising message I overheard today

(Appliance callsign) proceed to Automatic Fire Alarm operating at (address).

Caller stated that there is no signs of fire, but they can`t silence the alarm because they have lost the key to the panel.

Please can somebody answer

1. As a member of the fire service would you rather rescue a duck or sort out companies fire warning system?
2. As a tax payer should the fire service be doing the above?