Firefighters rescue baby ducks

WASHINGTON - A very distressed duck honking at a storm drain had people wondering what was wrong in Northwest Monday morning.

It turns out four of her five babies fell down a storm drain near the 1600 block of U Street. The fifth huddled with its mom as mom squawked away, alerting the neighborhood.

Neighbors started worrying about the ducks well before the babies tumbled into the drain. People who live in the apartments adjacent to the alley where the rescue occurred started calling city agencies over the weekend. They were told the city doesn't typically come out for this type of thing.

Worried about their survival under her car, Suzanne Pope says she put out a big bowl of water for them.

Then the little guys tumbled down the drain. She and others sought help.

"I just wanted to make sure she got some help," Pope says of the mother duck.

Three firefighters from Engine Company No. 9, which is right next to the alley, went into action, pulling off the drain's cover and getting out a bucket.

One held the legs of Sgt. Michael Engels as he reached down and scooped the swimming ducks into the bucket.

"They did a good job," Pope says.

"It was wonderful to watch it," says Olivia, another resident who called the city about the ducks.

She followed the firefighters' actions from her apartment.

"I was thinking 'I have to get to work but I have to find out what happened.'"

Senior Animal Control Officer Ted Deppner says the duck family will be relocated, possibly to Rock Creek Park.

After stopping by to gather up this duck family, Deppner was off to his next assignment. On Columbia Road he finds another duck, this one with an injured wing.

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