On Monday , May 31 , in Schenectady , New York , a computed tomography mention Bae was in the end rescued after spend a calendar week or longer stuck in a parking lot tree . agree toNewsweek , part of the ground it charter so long to organize a rescue mission after Bae was first spotted on May 24 was because the Schenectady Fire Department declined to do it . Instead , the job fell to Allmark Tree & Crane Service .
The whipping no doubt prompted some people to question whetherfirefightersever really rescuecatsfrom trees , or if that ’s just another age - oldmisconceptionpropagated by charming shaver ’s book and TV shows .
The short solution is this : It depends on the fire section and also the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .

Since fire section famously have long , sturdy ladders in their ownership , it realize sense that you ’d give them a call if your belovedpetwas ground on a in high spirits branch . And this course of action does sometimes get results . Firefighters have rescued computerized tomography from trees inCalifornia , Florida , andPennsylvaniaall in the preceding few months . It ’s not just tree diagram , either — in 2019 , Georgia ’s Roswell Fire Departmentsharedon Facebook that although most of its member had responded to a cat - stuck - in - a - Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree call at least once , “ more often we are rescuing precious and curious kittens dumbfound in bulwark . ” ( The berth was accompanied by some pictures of a cute and curious kitty they had just deliver from inside a wall . )
That said , other flak departments have told callers that they ca n’t fetch felines from tree . Some will at least go assess the spot to see if it ’s a immediate , gentle rescue . But if it is n’t , they might decline .
“ It ’s not something we ’re equipped to do , ” Fire Chief Dean Kochanowski of Dudley , Massachusetts , explainedin 2018 . “ Our equipment is specifically for fighting fires in dwelling house and things of that nature . ” sample to navigate a ladder through folio - filled , gnarled branch could damage the ladder ( and/or the fireman ) .
In the same article , Mark W. DiFronzo , fire gaffer in Southbridge , Massachusetts , toldtheTelegram & Gazettethat they ’ll worsen if they ’re understaffed . “ If they take the ladder motortruck to free a cat , then get a call for a core onrush , how do we explicate that to the victim ? ” he said . A third fire official said his fire department keeps it elementary by having a blanket no - delivery - cats - from - Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree insurance policy . That way , fire fighter are never faced with making potentially ill - fated judgment call .
In unretentive , firefighters have definitely been known to write cats from tree . But if one tells you to call a tree diagram and Stephen Crane service instead , it ’s not because they do n’t care aboutcats .
[ h / tNewsweek ]
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