Burning buildings. Medical emergencies. And, occasionally, kitties in a tight spot.
North Vancouver City Fire Department members channeled the Paw Patrol for a kitten rescue on the 300 block of East Fourth Street Saturday afternoon.
The residents were moving some things up for storage in the attic when cat bolted up the ladder and fell through a crack into the house’s soffit. For an hour, the owners tried to coax it back out with food but they got desperate and called for help, Danks said.
“There was no way it could get out. It was totally trapped,” said assistant fire chief Mike Danks.
When the crew arrived, they found the one-year-old kitty named Maisie not far from an exterior vent.
“(The captain) has seen a lot of different things but this was the first time seeing a cat stuck up in the soffits,” Danks said.
They decided to treat it as a training opportunity and send one of the newest recruits to get some ladder practice. The engine captain’s advice for the recruit: “No matter what, once you get your hand on that cat, do not let it go,” Danks said.
With minimal damage, the crewmember cut back some of the soffit and found Maisie was all too eager to be rescued.
#feelgood This cat climbed into the attic space & wouldn’t come out. The soffit vent had to be cut away to extricate the kitty. Both feline & rescuer were uninjured during this harrowing procedure. Nice one probationary FF Guolo #firefighters #rescue #northvan @CityOfNorthVan pic.twitter.com/IgsbKvYiy8
— NV City Fire Dept (@NVCFD) May 17, 2020
The owners were so grateful, they offered to host a barbeque and serve beers for the crews on the scene.
“(We) just said, this has been such a fun thing to do, in light of the current events, it is worth it just to see the smile on your faces,” Danks said.
Rescuing cats from trees is a stereotype often used as a put-down for firefighters, Danks said, but he added it’s all part of what they’ve signed up for.
“The majority of people in the fire service are in this role because they want to give back to the community and there are many, many different ways that we can do that,” he said. “It’s something that we do. We’re here for the community.”
