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04/24/2006: "Ducks to Docks -All Safe, Some Hot, Some Cold"

Fire fighters who rescued baby ducks

A training drill in Friday Harbor on Sunday morning for first responders was interrupted by a call of "Spell of smoke" in Jeri's Mall in Friday Harbor. When one of the tenants opened up the door to the Mall they smelled what they describe as, "wood smoke", and put in a call to 911. The source of the smell was quickly determined to be coming from a pet store located at the back of the mall.

The door to the pet store was locked, and rather than damage the door by a forced entry, the firefighters placed a ladder against the front wall of the shop that stopped short of the ceiling, went over the top, moved into the store and found a glass aquarium with a heat lamp that had fallen down on top of wood chips. The wood chips had been placed on the bottom of the dry tank to provide bedding for some baby ducks. The smoldering wood chips were at one end of the tank, and the baby ducks were huddled together at the far end.

Fire put out, ducks saved, no broken door, no harm done. Back to the docks and the water rescue drills.


(Sheriff Bill joins the in-water rescue drill - were not sure if this is a photo of Sheriff Bill jumping in the water, or jumping back out of the water once he felt how cold it was…)

Sixteen brave volunteers entered the water as a part of their training for Water Rescue work. EMTs, Sheriff and Sheriff Deputies, and fire fighters all took part in the drill.

Ask how it felt after coming out of ten minutes in the water, one of the participates said that she could feel her tissue moving in her arm, but could not feel the tissue due to the numbness in her fingers.