What could have been a duckling disaster in Northwest Indiana ended with a Mama duck and her brood back together again.
A concerned resident alerted the Portage Fire Department to ducklings struggling in a pond near his townhome.
While there is no specific protocol, Portage Fire Lieutenant Aaron Wirtz says they're no strangers to duckling rescues.
"It has become so prevalent, that we actually have nets on all of our fire trucks just for the duckling rescues that have seemingly increased over the years."
Once at the pond, the crew used cold water suits to swim to the middle, where the ducklings were stuck in a broken fountain.
"Kudos to the citizen that found them, because I would have never noticed there were tiny little heads trying to jump out," said Lt. Wirtz.
As the ducklings' mother swam anxiously nearby, the crew was able to scoop up the brood and return them to safety.
"The citizens of Portage are on top of the duck rescues this year," Wirtz concluded. "We appreciate their calls and concerns and we love doing what we do."
