Rise in animal rescue and ‘stuck objects’ call outs for Derbyshire fire service

Firefighters in Derbyshire were called to more incidents involving stranded animals and stuck objects last year and, despite an overall fall in callouts amid the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Home Office data shows 187 such calls were made to the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service in the year to March – 15 more than the year before.

They included 62 calls to help animals who found themselves in trouble and 125 callouts to remove objects from people.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Across England the number of times firefighters were drafted in to help animals increased from 4,724 to 5,159 over the year.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service was called out 62 times  to help animals who found themselves in trouble.Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service was called out 62 times  to help animals who found themselves in trouble.
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service was called out 62 times to help animals who found themselves in trouble.

The most common reason was to help a trapped pet, which was quoted in a fifth of incidents attended nationally, closely followed by rescuing pets from a height.

Animal charity the RSPCA said its staff rescues tens of thousands of stuck or trapped animals every year.

Steve Bennett, deputy chief inspectorate officer, said: "While our staff are trained and equipped to help a lot of them out of trouble, there may be some situations where they need a helping hand to ensure both the rescuers and the animals remain safe.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We can request the assistance of the fire and rescue service just like any member of the public can do, and we're incredibly grateful to crews who will always lend a hand to help an animal in need if they're available."

The number of people requiring help with stuck objects also increased nationally from 5,311 to 5,632.

Two-thirds of incidents saw someone needing help removing a ring, while trapped limbs accounted for 16% of calls.

Overall, Derbyshire firefighters attended 5,861 incidents in 2020-21 – including 2,311 fires – down from 6,216 the year before.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They included 1,317 non-fire related incidents, which may be related to flooding, assisting people trapped in lifts and road traffic accidents.

The National Fire Chief's Council said a drop in the number of incidents nationally, from 558,000 to 518,000, was to be seen in the context of the restrictions brought in during the pandemic.

Chairman Mark Hardingham said: “Despite the huge amount of positive and proactive work, incidents, and sometimes very serious incidents, do still happen.

"It is of critical importance that we maintain a well-resourced fire and rescue service to respond professionally and safely to national and local emergencies."