Fire service defends duck rescue

[kurnal]

This time apparently involving fire fighters wading into a canal to get a duck.  This issue still confuses me, especially when I think of the recent discussions about water rescues of humans....

Chris what would you prefer- incident commanders having the authority to do whatever they think appropriate in the circumstances they face and in accordance with their assessment of the possible benefits, consequences and risk -  or would you rather they were totally hamstrung by having to work with a set of rules that cannot be varied? If rules are written they will always err on the side of caution and in my opinion the standard of service will be poorer.

Allowing fire fighters  the power of discretion will always result in a range of responses some of which will be hard to justify or understand without full knowledge of the facts at the time. I bet insurance assessors and underwriters sometimes see risk differently and would quote widely different premiums but overall usually get it about right. The alternative would be to have flat rate premiums.  Would we be happy with that?

[toby14483]

Only just seen this...

On a slow day it's an excellent opportunity to get some much needed Water rescue practise. Rescuing imaginary casualties with your drill head on, doesn't always break the ice.

*budumtiss*

[Chunty]

Regarding cats stuck up trees has anyone ever seen the skeleton of a cat up a tree yet? Clearly they all make their way down the tree at some time,

Nearly there, that's one of the funniest lines I've ever seen in a fire service forum, and having been pee'd on rescuing a cat in my proby days its a subject that's warm to my heart, in a manner of speaking...

[Rich]

I used the 'you never see a cat skeleton up a tree to an RSPCA lady on a job the other week, she scowled at me and the retorted 'no they die and fall down'.  I then remembered I had left some thing on the pump which I required urgently ha ha.  Yes that didn't go to well!  

Along the way in my career.........correction job I have attended several animal rescues from a dog in a cess pit, to pigeons caught in netting 3 floors up, to a cat with its head stuck in a baked bin tin, oh and a pregnant cow in a swimming pool!!  We will always be called to attend these incidents because we are the people perceived qualified to do the job - always have been and always will be.

[kurnal]

I recollect a fully grown cow that fell through a roof and was trapped in the rafters,  ( the photo captions in the paper said cow on a hot tin roof- that dates me!) a  horse on a roof in the same predicament and rescuing a bird stuck in a tree.

Then theres numerous sheep and cows stuck down old mineshafts (theres estimated to be 60,000 old lead mine workings within a 10 mile radius of Matlock) and animals - mostly sheep off the cliff faces. Is it worth rescuing animals from these situations? The practice comes into its own when its a climber fallen or a suicide attempt.

[Chunty]

Years ago I was part of a bemused crew called to 'Pigeon stuck on lamp post'.

Who the hell puts these calls in I'll never figure out. Anyway a couple of old ladies and an RSPCA were in attendance on our arrival, we played the game and started to pitch a ladder, as soon as the head got anywhere near the bird it flew off much to joy and amazement of the well intentioned trio of twits.

Then there was the young vet who was clearly under pressure at a horse in a ditch bound in barbed wire job. He took a nervous look at the horse and rather than sedate it for the rescue as we were expecting, stated that he would shoot it. Our IC pointed out that it had to come out of the ditch dead or alive so we'd may as well try the live version first; I still see it trotting around now.

Chased a chinchilla around a smoke-logged flat after the bottom of its cage dropped out whilst I was carrying it out to the staircase, eventually trapped the thing under my helmet and then got a rollicking for not wearing my PPE. Shame of it was that either the shock or the belting it got when I crunched my helmet down it killed the poor thing.

Then there was a buddy of mine pretending to carry out CPR on a rat for the sake of the distraught owner, absolutely hilarious.

Once got an award from the RSPCA for multiple animal rescue at a large fire on a farm, not bad seeing as I spent all night in the warmth of the Command Unit sipping tea and answering the radio.

But the best was a tropical venomous snake stuck in a length of conduit... that the owner was kind enough to bring in to the station for us to sort out!!!! Suddenly cleaning the ablutions became very popular.

[Tony]

Our most recent animal rescue involved an injured cat in a stormwater drain.  We couldn't reach it so had to 'gently' flush it out into a pit.  Our Captain (elected head of the Brigade), stated in the hearing of the owner "We'll flush the drain, it'll either drown or be flushed out...".  Poor little 17 yo moggy came out alive!  Of course, the last word over the radio to dispatch was "Vicfire, Mooroolbark Pumper meow in station."