Firefighter Saves Baby Ducks With Quacking Ringtone

SLIDELL, La. (AP) — Quack! Quack! A duck call ringtone helped a Louisiana firefighter rescue six ducklings from a storm drain.

Spokesman Chad Duffaut of St. Tammany Fire District #1 says even with realistic quacking sounds coming from his cellphone, it took Firefighter Cody Knecht about 90 minutes to catch the first four baby mallards in the southeast Louisiana community of Slidell.

Duffaut says Knecht rescued the others after giving them about an hour to calm down.

All six ducklings were reunited with their mother Saturday in the canal behind a home, where residents had reported seeing the ducklings go into the drain.

Duffaut says it was fire station's second duck rescue in a week. On April 19, firefighters rescued a duck that got stuck in a chimney.
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Online: www.slidellfire.org

Fire Chief – Chris KaufmannFor Immediate Release April 26, 2015Baby Ducks Rescued from Storm DrainSlidell, LA. – On Saturday, April 25, 2015 at approximately 5:24 pm, St. Tammany Fire District #1 responded to a call for baby ducks trapped in a storm drain. The incident occurred on Oak Tree Dr. in the Fairways subdivision in Slidell. A neighbor reported seeing a number of baby ducks fall into a storm drain. Upon arriving on the scene, firefighters verified that several baby Mallard ducks were trapped in the storm drain. Firefighters removed the top cover of the drain to gain access to the ducks. Firefighter Cody Knecht got down in the drain to try and capture the ducks. Captain Chuck Davis, Fire Operator Jason Theriot, and Fire Prevention Officer Billy Dekemel assisted from above. With the help of a duck call ringtone on his iPhone, Firefighter Knecht was able to lure the baby ducks to him. It took about an hour and a half to rescue four of the six baby ducks. Unable to capture the other two baby ducks, the crew went back to the fire station to give the ducks a chance to calm dawn. They returned about an hour later and rescued the two remaining baby ducks. All of the baby ducks were reunited with their mother in the canal behind the home where the incident took place.St. Tammany Fire District #1 responds to numerous public service calls such as these each year. This is the second duck rescue call in less than a week. Firefighters are always eager to help and enjoy giving back to the community. Fire Chief Chris Kaufmann has stressed to our citizens, “If you don’t know who to call for help, call us”.For more information about St. Tammany Fire Protection District #1 visit us at www.slidellfire.org or follow us on Facebook - St. Tammany Fire District #1 and Twitter - @SlidellFire_PIOChad DuffautChief of Fire Prevention/PIOcduffaut@slidellfire.org

Posted by St. Tammany Fire Protection District #1 on Sunday, April 26, 2015

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