It isn’t quite a cat up a tree, but a close, and potentially more dangerous cousin. It’s a cold cat on top of a utility pole. The video doesn’t say where or when this was taken. The caption does say the following:
The fire dept. was called but they just laughed and took off. Useless. So the electric company came to got the poor car off the pole. He was there all night in freezing temps.
The fire department in this person’s mind is “useless” for not taking care of the cat. I am not advocating that the fire department should have handled this one any differently than was done, just passing along the impression of a member of the public.
I am interested in your views on this. You can comment below.
Let me also throw out this observation as you break into discussion groups. Recently there have been a number of well publicized animal rescues (mostly water related) where part of the justification for potentially putting firefighters in harms way was an effort to keep the unskilled citizens from getting hurt or killed trying to make the save. Should that be part of the risk evaluation in this case when you are dealing with the dangers of power lines?
As usual, the stupid reporter doesn’t have any of the answers, just a bunch of questions.
Also on STATter911 …
- Who ya gonna call? Chicago Fire Department rescues a coyote on Lake Michigan. It wasn’t Wile E. it was Holly. – December 18, 2010
- Did you hear the one about the cat, the Doritos bag, the utililty pole & the firefighters? It really happened in St. Petersburg, Florida. – April 29, 2012
- NEW INFORMATION – FD branches out to crime prevention. Firefighters ordered to be on streets to keep teens from being mugged in the Nation’s Capital. – July 13, 2011
- Alameda, CA firefighters & cops suffer image blow as they watch man drown. Dave believes without training & equipment they shouldn’t have been dispatched to the call. – May 31, 2011
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How meny dead cats have you ever seen in a tree,roof or a pole ????? They will come back down when they need to eat.Think about it.
We used to play racquetball and basketball for PT but the department nixed that due to the number of injuries involved. Rescuing cats from trees falls into the same sort of unacceptable risk for unknown benefit (even if the benefit is good PR).
But a cat on top of a utility pole? No f’n way. Electricity terrifies me. Kudos to the power company in this case; they’re the only ones who should be up there anyway.
Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree? I think they did the right thing the electric company should be called when it involves power transmission poles.
While I would not have put my personnel in harm’s way to handle this situation, I would have made contact with the complainant, notified the power company to see if they could be of assistance, and put my company available, but on scene until the power company arrived. The I would have a discussion with them as to the best way to handle the situation, made attempts to resolve it and inform the complainant of our options. At any rate, I would have kept them informed. Then when I finished up, I would follow up and see if there was anything else we could do for them and give them my card for any follow up.
But then, that’s the difference between having your taxpayers post nasty comments about your organization on YouTube and having taxpayers agree to film supporting documentation for funding, support, etc. (The latter which is what happened for us recently).
We may not necessarily like that the public calls us for some of these calls, but if they have called us, a lot of times it is because they don’t know who else to call. That indicates trust in our ability to HELP them. When we shred that trust, it’s hard to get it back.
At the very least the Fire Department could have continued its mission of customer service by remaining on scene and requesting the assistance of the power company. At least that would have shown the public that they can rely on the Fire Department to help in anyway it can.
I would have laughed too! I also would have called the power company and stood by until they arrived. Of course remain available for other emergencies. No reason to risk myself or my crew doing something that we have no business doing. Let the utility companies do the job they are trained and paid well for.
As public servants, the way we ‘carry’ ourselves has a great deal to do with how we are perceived by the public. A quote from the article states, “The fire dept. was called but they just laughed and took off.”
If the quote accurately describes the actions of the fire department at the incident in question, then I can understand why folks were less than overjoyed. A more appropriate explanation by the fire officer might have been, ” We are unable to access the cat due to the electrical hazard. We have notified the power company and they are sending a crew.” And follow that up with not ‘laughing’ as they return to the rig. Put yourself in the citizen’s shoes … many folks treat their pets as part of the family. Maybe you don’t personally agree, but don’t give your entire department a less than desirable reputation because of your actions while in uniform.
Personally, over the years we have rescued dogs, cats, deer, etc. from fire buildings, ice covered waterways, trees, inside walls and between floors to name a few. Some of us actually took home mistreated dogs from crime ridden neighborhoods or made them firehouse pets after rescuing them. Thankfully, most firefighters whom I’ve had the privilege of working alongside had the necessary amount of compassion required to enable them to do the job well and always help the department to be shown in the proper light.
There’s a video somewhere of a firefighter getting electrocuted trying to rescue a cat from on top of a pole. Nobody should be near the power lines except the power company, period – and this should be explained professionally to the citizen. As for cats in trees, the citizen should be told (professionally) that this is simply not a service that the FD provides (ties us up from actual emergencies) and that they should try animal rescue. It is also true that the cats usually come down on their own, but animal rescue can make that determination.
For the strange animal rescues we’ve seen recently – water, trench, confined space, etc. this is good public relations but I’m not a big fan. Maybe you can make a “drill” out of it as long as you have resources available both for the operation and to provide coverage, and you can be certain that the operation can be conducted safely.
I love my pets as much as anyone, and I know it sounds cold, but no firefighter should ever risk their life for the life of an animal.
Just bring out that trusty old shotgun and inform the complaintant that you’ll have the cat down in no time.
I’m sure they’ll suggest that they can find an alternative method….
Tree says, “Just bring out that trusty old shotgun and inform the complaintant that you’ll have the cat down in no time.
I’m sure they’ll suggest that they can find an alternative method….”
Stick to polishing your flashing buff lights ’cause the mentality you betray by the above statement does not reflect that of a real firefighter.
Have them go in and get a nice bowl of warm milk for Tabby when he gets down. Swing the wagon pipe around and….
I’d call Steve Martin–he’d open up a can of tuna and be a hero. It works in the movies!
we recently got called to a “bird in a tree”, and the home owner expected us to go get the “indoor bird” out of the big tree. Thankfully we didn’t try, but explained why we couldn’t do it.
If the cat got up there, it can get down again. Cudo’s to the power co for trying and being successful, and a fail in customer service to the FD. At least talk to the caller, and explain why you can’t, won’t etc.. do anything about the situation.
this is a pretty ridiculous topic to begin with, millions of dollars of equipment for a cat. seems like the decent thing would have been to not draw a lot of attention to this video.
The quote on the original video states “The fire dept. was called but they just laughed and took off. Not trying to make the fire dept. look bad but that’s what they did. Laugh and take off. I’m not insulting them and I know they aren’t equipped to deal with electric wires. So the electric company came to got the poor cat off the pole. He was there all night in freezing temps.” The poster even stated “I’m not insulting them and I know they aren’t equipped to deal with electric wires”, so it looks like whoever started this comment thread is just digging for something to get reactions. Should we have attempted the rescue? No. Should we have stayed there and provided support to the caller and the power company? Yes, barring another emergency call. Common sense decisions generally work correctly. Try to make them.
Some agencies perform animal rescues for the positive public relations. Others say they do it because of the training value. Many say they rescue the pet so citizens don’t get hurt attempting the rescue. Finally, a few departments just say it’s the right thing to do.
It’s a little over dramatic when responders say were “risking our lives” to save a pet. I’ll admit there are some pet rescues that are beyond our capability (like the cat on a power pole). However, most of them we have the training and equipment to minimize the risk and operate safely. The risk level on a animal rescue should be about the same as a training or body recovery.
We’ll never eliminate all the risk. Just driving to a cat in a tree is dangerous. You could be involved in a traffic crash and hurt or killed.
As a firefighter, you must be willing to accept some level of risk. If you don’t believe that, go get a job at McDonalds…You can still be part of a team and help people.
there are two sides to every story. we are very clear now on how the cell phone hero residents perspective…
A number of comments suggest that the FD should stay on the scene until the power company arrives. What purpose does this serve? The arrival of the power company can vary – 20 minutes to more than an hour, depending on their workload.
I’ll buy into the FD driving by to explain face-to-face to the citizen that they cannot make the rescue, call for the power company, and then advise the citizen that the approximate ETA given for the arrival of the power company. Once that has been done, there is no useful purpose of babysitting an animal on a power pole.
You guys are way too kind. The citizen should have been smacked for calling 911. The fire department should never have been dispatched, and no one should care.
I’m ignoring the comments about shooting the cat down, etc. because I know there’s no way any of us would ever do that and expect to keep our jobs. The ones who asked why to bring this to everyone’s attention should understand that it isn’t to point fingers: Dave said in the article that he understood the reluctance of the company to handle the situation (because of the wires). It is because: 1) There are departments out there who would try this rescue and 2) if you aren’t going to do the rescue, which I would recommend, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle it.
As far as sitting on the scene for 20 minutes to an hour- well, that’s your call. Personally, I’ll sit on a scene available with someone if it makes them feel better and explain to them that if I catch a call, I’ll have to leave, but I’ll be back. It shows that you are concerned about their complaint and that you are doing everything in your power to insure they get service. I don’t WANT to sit on the scene, but like I said earlier, that’s probably the reason why our department gets four or five letters of thanks from appreciative taxpayers each week, decent press, new equipment, and no layoffs. Of course, that all can change at the drop of a hat, but it seems to be working for us.
You need to do what you are comfortable with, but remember, these are your neighbors and as annoying as that call may be, it generated a request to help, and that’s our job. Just because we don’t climb up into the wires to get it doesn’t mean we can’t at least show the flag and be supportive.
I have to agree with Truck Lt. Should explain to the persons involved that it is way to dangerous to put a metal ladder anywhere near the wires that are at the top of the pole and where the cat would be setting. But would contact the power company and request that they come out! This Captain does not send his crew up a tree much less a power pole with live wires.
The person who filmed this video takes exception to the firefighters on-scene laughing at the cat. If he/she knew of the things/scenarios/scenes/situations I personally have laughed at, he/she would really be outraged. In this line of work, sometimes laughter really IS the best medicine. Often humor is the only thing that prevents me from having recurring nightmares, and keeps me able to perform my sworn duties (which don’t include climbing atop a high-voltage utility pole to retrieve a feline).
I have a friend, a firefighter retired. He spent months in a burn ward and lost part of his hand trying to get a cat off of a power pole after the power co refused. A neighbor sold the video. The cat fell to the ground and survived. Shame on anyone who thinks cats need to be rescued. Don’t believe me? Extreme videos Fridley MN. God bless firefighters