Wausau Fire Department Rescues Orphaned Ducklings

OnFocus – Wausau Fire Department rescued ducklings from a storm drain Wednesday night.

According to their social media, duck rescues being performed by fire service professionals are not that uncommon, but in the case of the duck rescue performed by Station 2 last night, they took it a little further than normal.

At around 10:00pm, Station 2 was paged for a duck rescue in a storm drain. Once on scene, they discovered that the mother duck had been struck by a vehicle and succumbed to her injuries next to the drain. Sadly, this left 6 orphaned ducklings.

The crew carefully used a fishing net to rescue the ducklings from the drain without needing to make an official Confined Space Entry. Once rescued, the ducklings were placed into a box that was made as comfortable for them as possible. Knowing that these ducklings were now orphaned, the crew “took the next steps exemplifying their level of Professionalism and Compassion.”

The crew contacted a local bird rescue expert in hopes of providing the ducklings a home, even if temporarily. However, by the time the expert was able to get back to them, the ambulance crew had gotten the ducks back to Station 2. When the engine returned, they found that the medics had gathered food and water and were caring for the ducklings as if they were family pets. The ducks were soon received by the bird expert and on their way to further care.

“Thank you gentlemen for exemplifying the professionalism, respect, and compassion we strive for daily in our Core Values,” the department said.

We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!