‘Once in a lifetime’: Oromocto firefighters rescue ducklings from storm drain

A mother duck must have sighed in relief after 11 of her ducklings who got stuck in a storm drain were returned to her on Wednesday.

The Oromocto Fire Department said a man who was walking in the area of the Oromocto Mall in New Brunswick reported that some ducklings had fallen into a storm drain.

After receiving the call, the fire department, Oromocto Engineering and Public Works, as well as the Water and Sewer Department responded to the scene.

“Mother duck was standing there. We lifted up the drain and we saw one duckling there but we knew there’s going to be some more. We couldn’t find them earlier because there’s a lot of gunk,” said Dylan Chase, one of the firefighters who was on scene.

He said he had to get his crew members to hold him by the ankles for him to go further inside the drain and grab the ducklings.

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“I noticed like a little hole that was kind of in a crack. And I put my head down, I listened, I could heard little chirps. I could see one duck … and they just kept coming and coming,” Chase said.

The ducklings were removed from the drain and have been reunited with the mother in the Oromocto River.

“It’s definitely a fun rescue and maybe once in a lifetime kind of opportunity,” said Chase.