Hutchinson firefighters rescue three ducklings from fairgrounds storm drain
The fluffy trio received a dish soap bath before being reunited with their mother
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A routine morning walk turned into a successful rescue mission Wednesday when the Hutchinson Fire Department saved three ducklings trapped in a deep storm drain at the Kansas State Fairgrounds.
A resident walking his dogs discovered a duckling stranded in a drain near the fairgrounds' White House building and went to Fire Station 1 for help. Responding crews lowered rookie firefighter Bernal into the narrow space, where he found the first duckling and spotted two more farther down the drain. The team worked together to pull all three safely above ground.
When an initial search for the mother duck came up empty, firefighters took the trio back to the station. The ducklings — affectionately named Mo, Curly, and Larry by the crew — received a gentle Dawn dish soap bath to remove contaminants from the drain water.
Around noon, crews located the mother duck near Lake Talbott and promptly reunited the family. The fire department reported the ducklings are expected to make a full recovery and issued a lighthearted public safety announcement advising the local duck community to keep all webbed feet on safe ground and "avoid playing too close to storm drains".
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