Menlo Park Firefighters Save Kitten Stuck In Pipe

MENLO PARK, CA -- What is it about firefighters that make them the cat's meow of rescuers? A few weeks ago, a San Jose Fire crew saved an African grey parrot in a tree.

Now in Menlo Park's case, it indeed involves saving a kitten Friday from the demise of one of its lives by removing it from a 4-inch exterior water drainage pipe located next to an Atherton resident's home. By the sounds of the three-hour effort, the firefighters did not shy from crossing the black kitten's path.

At 4.29 p.m. Friday, firefighters with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District were contacted by a woman who lives on Selby Lane. The resident said she had heard a baby kitten crying all morning and realized the kitten had somehow slipped down into an exterior water drainage pipe. Capt. Mike Harrington, engineer Joey Quadt and probationary firefighter Ryle Fitzgerald on Engine 3 arrived on scene and immediately went to work.

They located the pipe measuring 4 inches in diameter next to the home's foundation. It is used to collect rain water from a rooftop gutter downspout. At first, it appeared difficult to angle in and see down into the dark pipe because it was up against the house. But being these are firefighters in tech land, they used a cell phone light and camera to take photographs and video to zoom in and see what they were up against.

What they found was troubling and not encouraging at all. The top of a black kitten's head was barely visible. Worse yet, the pipe went straight down vertically, and the kitten had fallen at least 14 feet below a solid concrete walking deck.

With San Mateo County Animal Control called in to assist, firefighters tried a half-inch rescue rope to no avail. Then Quadt and Fitzgerald concocted a noose system using twine with fishing line techniques by bobbing the line up and down for almost an hour. As the firefighters' hopes in their efforts were almost deflated, Fitzgerald caught himself a kitten, pulling the line upward and grabbing its head and leg. The crew cleared the scene about 7:30 p.m.

The kitten was named “Ryle” after its rescuer -- who has made a memorable impression in the early stages of his work. He was dubbed “the cat whisperer” by the fire crew and animal control officers. Fitzgerald is currently contemplating adoption of the Kitten.

"It’s always nice when we can share a positive conclusion to any type of interesting and complex rescue we perform with the general public. It’s amazing all of the strange predicaments both humans and animals can get themselves into. Just when I think we’ve seen it all, something new comes along," Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.

See also

• African Grey Parrot Rescued From Tree By Firefighters