Firefighters save the lives of hundreds of pets in peril
FIREFIGHTERS in Hampshire have been called out to rescue more than 100 animals such as cats stuck up trees and farm animals trapped in water or mud.
In 2020-21 the fire service was called out to save 114 animals from a variety of predicaments. That is a 22% fall from 146 the previous year and the lowest number since available records began in 2012-13, bucking the national trend.
Nearly half of those creatures (49%) were domestic pets, such as cats and dogs, while 24% were farm animals including cows and sheep, and 27% were wild animals in distress.
The most common call was to free a trapped animal, followed by saving an animal from height – and pets were most likely to find themselves stuck either on the ground or somewhere high up.
Firefighters in our area received 56 calls to rescue trapped animals, as well as 18 call-outs to rescue an animal from somewhere high, 10 to pull an animal out of water or mud, and three calls to rescue an animal from below ground.
Another 15 calls were to an animal in harm, nine were to lift a heavy animal, and three were described as “other”.
So far this year firefighters around the country have been called out to rescue pets and other creatures from a variety of different dangers.
That includes:
■■A parrot that got stuck in pigeon spikes on a shop window while taking a walk with its owner down Oxford’s busiest street.
■■A kitten fell down a hole behind a washing machine into an underground soil pipe and was saved by eight West Midlands firefighters over the course of a two-hour rescue in Birmingham. ■■A cat was rescued from a house fire and revived by London firefighters using a specialist pet oxygen mask for the first time. ■■And a brood of ducklings were hooked out of a storm drain in a joint rescue by Lancashire firefighters and RSPCA officers. Mark Hardingham, chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said: “Animal rescue is a vital role carried out for many years by UK fire and rescue services, ranging from domestic pets to livestock.
“Animals in distress pose a potential serious risk to the public, members of other agencies and to firefighters.
“As the national statistics show, animal rescues are on the increase and we always urge people to contact the RSPCA in the first instance, who will assess the situation and call fire services if specialist equipment is required.
“Firefighters undergo training on how to carry out rescues to ensure their safety and to cause animals the least distress possible.
“There is also national guidance for fire services how to deal with such incidents. In addition, members of the public could be injured by distressed animals when trying to carry out rescues.”
Last year firefighters utilised at least 8,791 appliances and 28,486 officers (with many of the same officers and appliances attending multiple rescues) to save 5,160 animals across England and Wales.
That was a 9% increase on 4,724 animal rescues the previous year and the highest number since available records began.
More than half of those calls were to save pets (52%) while one in five was to rescue distressed farm animals (20%) and almost a quarter was to help wild animals (24%). Even birds needed saving sometimes, with 5% of calls to rescue parrots, budgies, ducks and other feathered friends.
The most common call received by firefighters nationally was to rescue a trapped animal (1,965 calls), followed by animals stuck somewhere high (1,428) – of which two-thirds (66%) were domestic pets.
That suggests the cliche of firefighters being called out to rescue cats from trees is still very much a reality.