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Noble Firefighters Rescue Desperate Ducklings Trapped In Sewer


By

John Del Signore

Published May 12, 2014

Modified May 12, 2014


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Courtesy Karen Williams


By

John Del Signore

Published May 12, 2014

Modified May 12, 2014


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Turn that Monday morning frown upside down with this heartwarming story of Staten Island firefighters springing into action to save a group of ducklings who got trapped in a sewer yesterday. The undeniably newsworthy incident occurred yesterday in Rossville, just outside Bloomingdale Park, where a dog walker spotted a duck "frantically quacking and flapping its wings" near a storm drain. Down in the drain, a "family of ducks" was spotted paddling in the water, naked and afraid.

Bystanders gathered, and after calls to 911 and 311 proved fruitless, area duck-lover Karen Williams marched over to a nearby firehouse, and stalwart members of Ladder 84 sprang into action. Here's video of the most adorable rescue effort ever:

"They went off happily with their mother," another bystander told the Staten Island Advance. "I think it was a great thing...the community and everyone coming together to rescue the little babies. It's a great Mother's Day story."

Later that day, another duckling was rescued from the storm drain, which appears to be a bottomless font of feel-good human interest stories. Staten Island sewer system insiders expect baby alligators for Father's Day.

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barts people

ducklings

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staten island


John Del Signore

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Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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