Firefighters spend two hours rescuing rabbit from roof, but criticized for lack of efficiency

Firefighters in Kaohsiung City faced a challenging mission after being called to rescue a pet rabbit trapped on an awning three floors high, Friday night.

Not only did the firefighters have to deal with a rascally rabbit, the neighborhood warden kept shouting instructions, and making demands on the emergency responders, while complaining about their lack of efficiency.

Kaohsiung City Fire Bureau received a report about the rabbit at around 8:00 pm, February 21, and firefighters arrived at the scene in Xiaogang District around 15 minutes later.

The firefighters were met at the scene by the local neighborhood warden, who criticized them for their tardy arrival, and the fact that the fire department had not dispatched a ladder truck.

A neighborhood warden in Kaohsiung City offers advice to firefighters on how to do their job. February 21, 2020.

“As public servants, your efficiency is so poor, how can you protect us?” The warden asked.

The firefighters patiently explained that ladder trucks were reserved for rescuing people, and that in cases of animal rescue, including rabbits, the bureau was not authorized to use lights and sirens, but had to wait at red lights like ordinary motorists.

See previous story: One firefighter dead, 4 injured after collision in Kaohsiung City

As the firefighters proceeded with the rabbit rescue operation, armed with nets, and attempting to coax the bunny with food, the neighborhood warden urged them to climb onto the fragile awning to catch the errant animal.

A firefighter fired back at the warden: “You want us to climb onto it? I am not going to give you instructions: This is your specialty, not my profession.”

As firefighters on the ground tried to explain to the warden that clambering around on the awning exposed personnel to inherent dangers, including the possibility of falling off, or through the awning, the warden continued to complain that the bureau had not dispatched a ladder truck.

In the end, the firefighting team eventually caught the rabbit using a fishnet on a pole.

Rabbit rescued in Kaohsiung City, February 21, 2020.

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One thought on “Firefighters spend two hours rescuing rabbit from roof, but criticized for lack of efficiency

  • February 24, 2020 at 3:48 am
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    It’s a ‘discarded’ pet rabbit the owner set free after the cutiness factor wore off! What about Taiwan’s stray dogs or the ones left in cages on the front porch amongst traffic funes? They never receive any form of rescuing? Although cruel… I would have sent a falcon in to catch that rabbit!

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