Brian Amaral
The Providence Journal, R.I.
BURRILLVILLE, RI — Firefighters managed to rescue nine ducklings from a storm drain after they fell inside Wednesday.
The rescue started when the Pascoag Fire Department got a call from a neighbor about a female mallard in distress on the corner of Rolling Meadows Road and South Main Street. The duck was circling around a storm drain, where nine of her ducklings had fallen.
When animal lover and fire captain Sharon Jenks arrived, the mother duck ran right up to her truck like Lassie, then back to the storm drain.
Over the course of about two hours, firefighters used a neighbor’s pool net to pull out the ducklings. The ducklings were terrified, so they were hard to corral, but patience paid off, Jenks said.
The mother duck waited for all of them to be pulled out. The mother duck was ecstatic. So were the firefighters.
“That’s why we do this,” Jenks said.
Deputy Chief Richard Peck, Deputy Chief Keith Carter and Fire Marshal Lori Poirier were also on scene, Jenks said.
The ducks are now hanging out safely at a nearby pond, Jenks said.
“It’s wonderful,” Jenks said. “We saved nine lives.”
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