Pigeon in a crisp packet, kinky bride-to-be: Cork City firefighters and the bizarre rescue missions
(Left to right) Firefighters Peter Spillett, Graham Kerr and Brian Tanner at Cork City Fire Station. 'We’ve had a lot of young people in who were having trouble getting handcuffs off.' Photo: Gerard McCarthy
A pigeon trapped in a crisp packet, a piercing in an awkward body part, and a kinky bride-to-be are among some of the bizarre rescue missions carried out by Cork City's firefighters.
The brave men and women of Anglesea Street could be forgiven for thinking they had been duped by pranksters following one recent call.
The rescue mission for which a concerned citizen dialled 999? A pigeon had become trapped after scavenging for lunch in an empty crisp packet. Unable to reach the bird, who had found the bag hooked on a tree branch, the onlooker called emergency services. The firefighters were summoned and responded swiftly.
Senior firefighter David O’Shea said this bird-brained adventure is not particularly unique.
“We can be called to anything. People still ring up about cats up trees. The rule of thumb is that if a cat can get up a tree he can find his way down but this was different.
"We don’t usually go to these kind of calls but the pigeon couldn’t make it down as he was trapped in a packet of crisps. Because he was high up in the tree the public weren’t able to reach him.”
Mr O’Shea says there are many animal lovers in Cork City Fire Brigade. and he described how the crew pulled together to save a puppy in distress.
“We got a call from a guy who had pups in his back garden. One of the pups went missing and it was discovered he had gone down a drain. We had to dig up the whole back garden, take up the concrete and smash up the footpath just to get the pup out.”
Senior Firefighter Brian Tanner spoke about how they were called to the scene of a man suffering from an issue involving a very intimate piercing.
"There was one guy who put on a ring that got stuck. The area was swelling and swelling. The doctor couldn’t do anything for him so they sent him to CUH. However, they didn’t have anything dedicated enough for a job like this. Two of the lads went up in the jeep with a ring cutter. The guy was a great sport about it and was even laughing about what happened.”
It's difficult to know who might turn up at the station on any given day, added senior firefighter Pat Hayes. He was, of course, referring to a mystery woman who presented at the station in full hen night attire complete with a set of handcuffs.
“They couldn’t find the key,” Mr Hayes explained. “She had gone to the Gardaí first and they were seeing if they could find a master key. They had no luck getting the handcuffs off so they brought her over to us. She wasn’t embarrassed at all. I think they were all still in hen night mode.
Second Officer, Victor Shine said this issue is not unusual.
“We’ve had a lot of young people in who were having trouble getting handcuffs off. I’m not sure where they get them from. We’ve had to drill the pins out. These are real handcuffs as opposed to toys.”
Another man had to call for help after falling victim to his own washing machine, said senior firefighter Brian Tanner.
“We got a call from a guy who got his fingers caught in between the glass and plastic of a washing machine door handle. I don’t know how he did it. He was there for about three-and-a-half hours before he called us.
"We had to go and take the door off the washing machine. It was a case of disassembling lots of nuts and bolts and putting it back together again. His fingers were purple but he was grand. It was a relief that it all got sorted and he wouldn’t have to get his fingers amputated.”
This wasn’t the first time a washing machine sparked an emergency services call, says firefighter Graham Kerr.
“One night we got a call to a kitchen that was flooding rapidly. The woman was in a panic. There was a hose spraying water and they were trying to aim it into the sink. She explained that the husband was getting a new washing machine. He wanted to get a head start on replacing it and plugged it out at the inlet.
"We assured her that we would look after it. It was after this that one of the lads reached around to the back of the washing machine and explained that the husband had forgot to turn off the inlet. You could see her face change. We left as soon as the arguing started.”
Meanwhile, Second Officer Victor Shine recounts the sad request to assist with carrying an obese man’s coffin.
“The man who died was a bariatric. The window of the house had to be taken out because he wouldn’t fit through the door. A crane was brought along to lift the man. He wouldn’t fit into the undertaker’s vehicles so he had to be transported to the mortuary in the back of a van.
"On the day of the funeral our truck had to go down there and lower the coffin before the family were brought in. This man was 350kg, the weight of four average people. This is not unusual.
"I’ve seen teleporters being used to take the deceased out of the second floor of a house. This happened to be on the ground floor which wasn’t too bad.” And finally. on a lighter note, senior firefighter David O’Shea tells an amusing anecdote involving a young offender.
“A juvenile was taken in for questioning. His parents refused point-blank to sit in when he was being questioned. They couldn’t contact anyone related to him so Gardaí called us to see if a firefighter would come along to act as a witness during the interview. We just never know where we’re going to end up.”
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