It’s kind of a Norman Rockwell-esque image - but do they still respond to such calls? Are they more likely to in small towns than in big cities, given the demands on their personnel?
I’m sure it’s happened sometime, somewhere but I’m not convinced that fire departments ever had a cat/tree policy. I would have to see some kind of reliable study to believe this happened on any kind of regular basis.
From the commentary accompanying several “firefighters rescue cat” videos, it seems like they generally don’t come out unless the cat has been stuck there for a few days, under the theory that a cat is generally competent to get down from where they got up.
Three incidents? You’re going to need to do a lot better than that to convince me that this happen on a regular basis. Considering the number of cats, trees and fire departments in the world, anything less than dozens of cat rescues every year for the past couple of centuries is basically immaterial.
There’s always this guy.
I’d go with that last bit. I remember reading a Mike Royko column on the subject when a pet owner was dismayed to learn from that the CFD doesn’t rescue pets.
What is your definition of “regular basis?”
This guy is a fucking amateur. No PPE and failure to maintain three points of contact.
I already told you.
Show me the documentation from a reliable source and I’ll consider it.
Oh, don’t worry. I am furiously scouring all available statistics published in the scholarly literature by every fire department in the entire world throughout history to compile a complete database of feline antiarboreal rescue maneuvers for your perusal. But in order to complete my study and subject it confidently to peer review, I will require you to provide more definite parameters. Please clarify:
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Are we to count only professional fire departments or do volunteer firefighters also count?
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What if a fireman chooses to rescue a neighbor’s cat using his own ladder when he is not on-duty?
2a. What if he uses an extension ladder instead of a normal one? -
Does it count if a cable guy with a bucket truck effects the rescue if he once took a CPR class at the local firehouse?
3a. What if he failed the CPR class and that’s why he works for the cable company? -
What if a fire department rescues a cat, but the cat then goes right back up the tree again. Do these count as separate incidents? What is the time limit under which you would consider two rescues of the same cat in the same tree to be separate? What if it goes up a different tree?
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What if the fire department retrieves a cat but it turns out the cat is dead? What if it turns out to be an alligator?
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What if it’s just a really tall bush?
6a. Or a fern?
6b. Or a cactus? -
What if a fire department responds to a call, only to fail to effect a successful rescue because the guy who goes on the ladder is, like, super allergic to cat fur?
I realize some of these questions may sound nitpicky to you, but I assure you, as a dedicated statistical sociologist specializing in feline/combustion mitigation specialist relations, the answers are of the utmost importance. I wouldn’t wish to appear at the next conference of researchers only to be accused of sloppy data gathering. This is science, after all.
Fire and Rescue in the UK are very reluctant to turn out to carry out ‘feline antiarboreal rescue maneuvers’, but they will do it to prevent a Darwin Award candidate from messing up the pavement when he (it’s always a he) falls off his rickety ladder. Not to mention the cost to the NHS of ambulances and treatment in A&E.
Don’t worry friedo, when cats are concerned, I fully support the picking of nits. Too answer your specific queries.
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Both paid professional fire departments and volunteer departments are acceptable to me. It may be useful and interesting to differentiate between the two but I don’t consider this to be crucial.
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and 3) Civilians and off duty firepersons using private equipment don’t count. If there is no official record of the department responding to the feline in need then it’s irrelevant.
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There is no time limit and the specific tree doesn’t matter but to count as separate incidents, the firepersons need to successfully rescue the cat once, get all the way back to the firehouse, get a new call for aid and then at least attempt to rescue the cat again.
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They showed up - it counts. Success or failure doesn’t matter. I don’t care if their cat removal method is to shoot the animal with a poison tipped crossbow bolt. Concerning rescues of non feline animals, they don’t count. Tracking their rescues could be statistically interesting but not relevant to this discussion.
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It’s all good, any tall structure really. Bridges, cell phone towers, oil drilling platforms all count. In fact, if you have an exceptionally tall holiday tree in your family room and you need to get the fire department to remove the kitty from beneath the angels bum, if they show up and it’s properly logged, it’s good.
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As noted failed rescues still count. Did the official fire department show up to attempt a rescue and did they record the attempt in their log books? It counts as far as I’m concerned.
how about a man up a lamp post from yesterday?
My fire department won’t, which is why the neighborhood is littered with cat skeletons in trees.
I once called the FD about a cat in a tree. The cat was meowing pitifully, and I thought they would rescue it. They said “when it gets hungry enough it will come down”, and that was that.
Have you ever seen a skeleton of a cat in a tree? Cats can get down by themselves when they’re ready.
Fire departments might send someone over on a slow day, but it’d be their lowest priority.
This is a false assumption. How long can a dead or even serious ill feline stay in a tree without falling or or being blown out by the wind? We need much more study to determine this. Call your local representative to indicate that funding this research is of the highest national priority. These are questions that must be answered!
I watched friedo’s fist linked video with the sound off, but:
It looked like local Animal Control was called to get the cat, but AC realized they needed a ladder truck. Then AC asked to coordinate with the fire department for the use of a ladder truck.
It did look like the person rescuing the cat in the end was a fireman, but really I’m only going by the uniform. An Animal Control officer could’ve donned the heavy jacket and gloves just as easily.
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I would bet in most small towns, the local FD is the one place everyone knows to get a ladder truck from, if such an item is ever needed.
Thanks, all.
Heh. A firefighter once told someone in my small Ohio hometown, “Lady, have you ever seen a cat skeleton up in a tree?”
My volunteer department in a fairly rural area will still do it. We will also get snakes off of pool covers and out of basements. While we don’t like doing it, we will also chase skunks out of your crawl spaces.
I work run a 911 center in an urban area and have 8 Fire Departments. About half of them will do it without question. The other half will do it when badgered.
My wife, who is a dispatcher, once used the line about cat skeletons in trees. She was written up after the kind elderly lady made a formal complaint and wrote a letter to the editor of the small town newspaper describing the “cold heartless dispatcher”.
It really boils down to where you live and what kind of PR your department is looking for. It’s a running joke around here that you can rescue 27 people and get a small mention in the news; rescue an animal and you will be hailed a hero and have a parade in your honor.