Snakes in bathrooms, donkeys in holes, dogs on roofs and lots of cats up trees…

Friday 27 May 2016

Firefighters have been called out to reports of snakes in bathrooms, a pony stuck in a stable and a dog on a pitched roof in the last three years.

Figures released by the Jersey Fire and Rescue Service show that they have been called out to almost 100 “animal rescue” incidents since 2013.

More than half of the call-outs involved cats that have got themselves stuck up trees or on roofs, or trapped seagulls.

But the stats – released under the Freedom of Information Law – also show some weirder calls, including:

-        A donkey “stuck in a hole” in April 2013.

-        A squirrel on the roof of a two-storey house in June 2013.

-        A “large dog” on a pitched roof having got out through a skylight in July 2014.

-        A cat “caught in a fan belt” in December 2014.

-        A pony “stuck in a stable” in February 2015.

-        A “snake in a bathroom” in April 2015.

The figures show the way that the workload of the fire service has changed over the years. In 2104, Firefighers attended 1,267 incidents – or almost four per day.

But of those, just 268 were for fires – which means that almost 80% of the call-outs were non fire-related.