WASHINGTON -- A mother duck has been reunited with four of her babies after firefighters rescued them from a storm drain.
Just after 7 a.m. Monday, residents near 16th and V streets in Northwest heard frantic quacking and discovered a distressed duck with one duckling, D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter said. The residents discovered four other ducklings had slipped through the slots in the storm drain.
Firefighters from nearby Engine Company 9 took the cover off the drain and found four ducklings swimming about six feet down.
Members of Truck 9 held Customer Service Unit 5 Sgt. Mike Engles' legs and lowered him into the storm drain, Etter said. Engles collected the ducklings in a milk crate and removed them from the drain.
None of the ducks was hurt.
The firefighters took all the ducks to a nearby police station and handed them over to animal control, which is expected to set them free at another location, Etter said.
