Firefighter’s most memorable rescue
The predicament animals get themselves into can be amusing, but it’s still a rescue at the end of the day.
Senior firefighter Ali Turner said he had attended at least 30 rescues of various animals.
‘‘It’s the situation that makes it amusing but in fact, it all gets a little serious when you start to do the rescue because you never know what you are going to come across,’’ he said.
Last year, Fire and Emergency NZ attended 154 animal rescues in Auckland, an Official Information Act request showed.
This included 76 cats, 37 dogs, 13 horses, nine birds, eight ducks, four cows, three possums, a goat and chicken.
In more rural areas such as Kumeu¯ , large animal rescues were more common.
Turner said his most memorable rescue was a horse and its foal stuck in a swampy river out the back of the suburb.
He said the team decided to rescue the foal first and while they rescued it, the owner kept the horse calm by talking to it.
Once the foal was safe, Turner said the team were shocked to see the horse spring out of the swamp herself.
‘‘It just showed the power of the animal and the fact that she was there because the foal was there,’’ he said.
The station had a four-wheel drive vehicle stocked with hooks, straps, safety mats, ropes, harnesses and helmets for rescues.
Turner said the common rescues were cats stuck up trees and dogs stuck under fences.
‘‘Brigades have been called to cats stuck up trees, however, you hardly ever see a cat skeleton in a tree.
‘‘If the cat wants to get down the cat will always get down.’’
Fire and Emergency NZ worked closely with the animal’s owner and SPCA when conducting rescues, Turner said.
‘‘Owners are very emotional as you would be with your pet,’’ he said.
‘‘A lot of people see horses as their pets, as part of their families so they are very attached to them.’’
Fire and Emergency NZ director Leigh Deuchars said teams would attend animal rescues if they had time, but human life took precedent.
‘‘There are occasions where a caller may be directed to contact a vet or SPCA if they are the more appropriate agency to respond,’’ Deuchars said.