A Columbia Heights fire crew rescued about eight ducklings from a storm drain May 5 after a passerby spotted them at the southwest corner of 40th and Central avenues.
Fire Chief Daniel O’Brien said someone called 911 at 7:47 a.m. after seeing the ducklings in the drain and waited at the scene. O’Brien was on his way to work, traveling west on 40th Avenue, when the call came in.
“I showed up, I kind of evaluated it,” O’Brien said. “I wasn’t sure how to get at it without too much of a disruption.”
After speaking with a woman at the scene, O’Brien called for an engine. Assistant Chief Bradley Roddy and firefighter Matt Reynolds responded.
The department happened to have the right tool on board.
“This happens two or three times a year,” O’Brien said. “It’s a fishing net.”
After the engine arrived, the crew removed the grate over the storm drain and scooped up the ducklings. With the adult ducks quacking overhead, firefighters released the ducklings nearby on Wargo Court.
O’Brien said it is common for ducklings to become separated from the adult ducks in these situations.
“Mom and dad aren’t down there,” O’Brien said. “Mom would have a hard time getting down into the drain with them, because the opening on the curb is smaller.”
City Communications Director Will Rottler said people should call 911 if they encounter ducklings in a storm drain and should not try to rescue them on their own. One concern, he said, is that something could fall through the storm drain opening and injure the ducklings.
O’Brien said duckling rescues are not typically priority calls for the Fire Department, but crews respond when they are available and not tied up with fire or medical calls. He said firefighters cannot enter the drain because of Occupational Safety and Health Administration and confined-space entry rules, but they will do what they can from outside the drain.