05-09-2012, 03:04 AM
why firefighters are heroes 
ST. PETERSBURG FLA.— The mother was pacing back and forth above the storm drain, calling for help.
Her babies were stuck below.
There they were, piled atop one another in a storm drain behind the Old Navy at Tyrone Square Mall: nine brown ducklings, calling to their mother.
Firefighters got the call about 9:52 a.m. They arrived four minutes later to find the mother duck perched above the drain and McNeally guarding the spot from about 15 feet away.
It took three men to lift up the grates that held the ducklings in.
Once the grates were off, firefighter Ted Johnson jumped down into the drain. The ducklings scattered.
Corralling them with his legs, he scooped them out, one by one.
Handling ducklings is harder than it looks, the firefighters said. The key is to hang on to them without squashing them.
The little duck jumped out of the firefighter's hands and sprang through the parking lot. Kras had to chase it under three or four cars before catching it.
"It was really funny," McNeally said. "Big ol' firefighter chasing around this little thing."
![[Image: stpetersburgfirefightersrescue_10709706.jpg]](http://r2.cygnuspub.com/files/cygnus/image/FHC/2012/MAY/600x400/stpetersburgfirefightersrescue_10709706.jpg)
![[Image: stpetersburgfirefightersrescue_10709707.jpg]](http://r1.cygnuspub.com/files/cygnus/image/FHC/2012/MAY/600x400/stpetersburgfirefightersrescue_10709707.jpg)
ST. PETERSBURG FLA.— The mother was pacing back and forth above the storm drain, calling for help.
Her babies were stuck below.
There they were, piled atop one another in a storm drain behind the Old Navy at Tyrone Square Mall: nine brown ducklings, calling to their mother.
Firefighters got the call about 9:52 a.m. They arrived four minutes later to find the mother duck perched above the drain and McNeally guarding the spot from about 15 feet away.
It took three men to lift up the grates that held the ducklings in.
Once the grates were off, firefighter Ted Johnson jumped down into the drain. The ducklings scattered.
Corralling them with his legs, he scooped them out, one by one.
Handling ducklings is harder than it looks, the firefighters said. The key is to hang on to them without squashing them.
The little duck jumped out of the firefighter's hands and sprang through the parking lot. Kras had to chase it under three or four cars before catching it.
"It was really funny," McNeally said. "Big ol' firefighter chasing around this little thing."