The St Tammany fire department in Slidell, Louisiana, has a new specialty: saving ducks. On Saturday, its firefighters rescued six ducklings trapped in a storm drain – by using a duck-call ringtone.
“A neighbor reported seeing a number of baby ducks fall into a storm drain,” the fire department said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. “Upon arriving on the scene, firefighters verified that several baby mallard ducks were trapped in the storm drain. Firefighters removed the top cover of the drain to gain access to the ducks.
“Firefighter Cody Knecht got down in the drain to try and capture the ducks. Captain Chuck Davis, fire operator Jason Theriot, and fire prevention officer Billy Dekemel assisted from above. With the help of a duck-call ringtone on his iPhone, firefighter Knecht was able to lure the baby ducks to him. It took about an hour and a half to rescue four of the six baby ducks.”
After giving the rescued ducks a chance to calm down at the fire station, the crew returned to rescue the other two ducklings. The birds were then reunited with their mother in the canal behind the home where the incident took place.
Earlier this month, on 19 April, the department rescued a duck that was stuck in a chimney. In its Facebook statement, the department said it responds to “numerous public service calls such as these each year”.
“Firefighters are always eager to help and enjoy giving back to the community,” the statement said. “Fire chief Chris Kaufmann has stressed to our citizens: ‘If you don’t know who to call for help, call us.’”
