Firefighters rescue 11 ducklings from storm drain in Snohomish County (PHOTOS)



MILL CREEK, Wash. -- Firefighters from Snohomish County Fire District 1 responded to a rescue call and freed 11 ducklings trapped in a storm drain Thursday.

The district said firefighters responded to 170th Place SE and 2nd Avenue SE just west of Mill Creek after Amy Shieff called asking for help. She had noticed a duck circling around a grate on a storm drain in an unusual way.

Shieff said she stopped to investigate and that’s when she heard the ducklings in the drain.

The district said firefighters put a fire hose in one drain and used a gentle stream of water to float the ducklings down to the next drain where they they were safely retrieved.

“Firefighters described it as a water slide for ducks,” said Leslie Hynes, Fire District 1 public information officer.

“The rescue was a group effort. The neighbors played a key role,” she said. “We are glad we could work with them to reunite the ducklings with their mother.”