MARION COUNTY, Fla. -- Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) technical rescue technicians from Golden Ocala Station 20 rescued seven baby ducks from a storm drain in The Villages of Marion (8051 SE 168 Turtle Creek Street) on Sunday (April 27, 2008) just after 9:00am.

MCFR dispatchers received a non-emergency call from a citizen who reported that the baby ducks were trapped about 18-feet down a storm drain. The Villages of Marion citizens thought to call MCFR after reading recent news reports about how firefighters rescued a foal named Shooter from an old septic tank in Citra.

MCFR crews agreed to save the ducks, but responded with non-emergency intentions. They did not use lights or sirens when responding, and they were available on scene in case an actual 9-1-1 call came in.

Firefighters lowered a 24-foot extension ladder down into the storm drain, and MCFR firefighter/paramedic and technical rescue technician Max Riddle pulled the seven baby ducks to safety.

Because the baby ducks were located more than five feet below ground, firefighters took specific precautions to safeguard themselves from potentially dangerous gases that can lurk under ground. These precautions included wearing special flash fire protective suits and supplied air respirators as well as air monitoring.

Once brought to safety, the firefighters gave the baby ducks to the citizens in the area, who then reunited them with their mother and returned them to their home at a nearby pond.