Cordelia Fire District crews performed a duck rescue operation  when this curious little waterfowl fell into a drain pipe and couldn’t find its way out. The duck became trapped in a 6-foot drain pipe in a private reservoir pond off Rockville Road. The drain pipe has a 90 degree bend at the bottom with about a 150 foot pipe that empties into another area where the duck could escape. Unfortunately, the duck couldn’t see the escape route, and instead was trying to get back up the 6-foot vertical pipe, and wouldn’t move down to the connecting pipe to find the exit.

Cordelia Fire worked with the property owner to find a solution. To encourage the duck to move down the connecting pipe and out to freedom, the rescuers lowered a basketball into the pipe and then slowly flooded the pipe with water to gently nudge the duck along the escape route and out to safety.

Chief Dave Carpenter remarked that the duck was warmly greeted with a frenzy of quacking by the rest of the brood, who seemed genuinely concerned and grateful for their friend’s safe return.