My local FD just saved some ducklings from a storm sewer. I do believe it’s the second time they’ve had to do that in a year. I agree with Emergency911’s assessment that it depends on the kind of PR your dept is looking for.
The Master speaks.It’s 10 years old, and lacks statistical rigor, but it’s from Uncle Cecil and that’s got to count for something.
Probably should, in fact.
Not from a tree, but Tucson firefighters rescued five kittens from a storm drain on Saturday.
IAAFF.
In the past 23 years, I have removed or assisted in the removal of 6 cats from trees. All have been truly stuck, one was hanging by its neck about 45 feet up. It’s by no means an everyday occurrence, but it certainly happens.
There are two reasons we will rescue cats. The first is that we’re generally not jerks, most of us don’t like to say no to helping someone or something. We also recognize that if we don’t do it, with equipment and training that can get us there in relative safety, then another person is going to do it and we’ll get to rescue that person and a cat. To wit, I’ve rescued two dogs and one swan stuck in ice. Same principle.
Town of 16,000 people. I’m not sure of the per-capita rates of stuck cats, so YMMV.
The local fire station sent a truck round to fill up a gigantic paddling pool at my local community centre last week. I mean, it was very hot by local standards, and they’re just across the road, and they were bribed with homemade cakes… 
Is he taking a selfie?
I wouldn’t be one bit surprised. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he “gave” it to Clark Kent to be published in the Daily Planet.
If firefighters are not available, one can hire a professional dedendrologist.
…or is that dedentriter? You get the idea.
The fire department rescued a crow from a tree out here in 1991. It was tangled in something and had to be untangled. My co-worker thought it was a waste of the taxpayers’ money but I like crows and didn’t mind if some of my money was used to rescue it.
Cool videos - thanks!
My cat (a real dumb bastard of an animal) once got out and got treed by a baby raccoon. He cried and howled until most of the neighbors can out to see what was going on. After a couple of hours, my wife called the fire department and reported that the person who answered just laughed and said to call an arborist unless the tree or cat was also on fire.
Ultimately, I got an orthopedic surgeon to get the cat out of the tree, but his profession was only incidental to his skill in rigging a ladder and ropes off his deck toward the tree.
I was about to post that same story! The macaw was in a tree in the front yard of some friends of mine – my friends initially realized that there was something going on when they saw a guy (the macaw’s owner) trying to climb their tree. They went out into the yard, and convinced the owner to not try to rescue the bird on his own (since it was about 50’ up in the tree), and they’re the ones who called the fire department for the rescue.
I think they were rescuing the owner from his own demise.
Are we rescuing animals or thwarting escape attempts?
That was, in fact, my friends’ initial concern. However, they were also longtime bird owners (they had a lovely cockatiel for several decades), and they wanted to help with getting the macaw rescued.
My husband was driving and I noticed the cop car in front of the house with a ladder. I joked, “What’s stuck in the tree now?” Found out it’s a bird…
friedo’s proposal, including Alpha’s recommendations, is intrinsically invalid, and in fact deeply troubling because gender of the rescue personnel (let alone the cats) is not part of the data. It clearly is not suitable for peer-review. I, for one, would insist that it not be returned to the author for further revision because of his intractable and well-demonstrated inability to function in the pluralized social construction known as Science.