It’s a common
misconception that firefighters regularly rescue cats stuck up trees – this
might be a nice safe rescue story for a children’s TV show but real life rarely
resembles Fireman Sam.  There is a
grain of truth to the idea, however, as the fire service were called to
Trowbridge, Wiltshire, earlier this year to rescue a pet owner who had become
stuck trying to enact her own rescue.

The woman who
was rescued had become stuck over 5 metres up the tree in the course of rescuing
her pet parrot.  It is unclear exactly
how a bird can become stuck up a tree, but it was clearly concerning enough for
the owner to risk life and limb in her rescue endeavour.  Crews attended from four stations but after
the situation was assessed, only two engines remained, using a 12 metre ladder
to rescue the stranded lady.

A
spokesperson encouraged the public not to attempt rescues of this nature
without training and support, one danger being that accidents and injuries can
arise from untrained people trying to climb trees.  The other main risk is that often people are
unable to descend back down the tree, necessitating a fire service response as
happened here.

While the
fire service absolutely will rescue anyone who becomes trapped up a tree, as
they did with a 12-year-old girl in Milton Keynes late last year, they look
less favourably on having to rescue people who should not have gone up the tree
in the first place, and who should have called the experts to retrieve whatever
it is that needed rescuing.

Fire crews in
America take an even dimmer view of having to rescue people or pets that have
become stranded up trees, because they also serve as emergency medical
responders in lieu of ambulance crews. 
Very often the call goes out for medical assistance and the fire brigade
get there first, equipped with all the lifesaving kit and skills you would
expect to find in an ambulance.

If they have
responded to a call about a cat stuck up a tree, and this means that a heart
attack victim can’t be reached in time; it is hard to justify attending these
non-emergency events.  Usually, the fire
brigade in America will recommend the services of a crane rental company or
tree surgeon, as they are better suited to tackling stuck pets and people.

Another
reason why many fire departments across the pond have a blanket policy of not
responding to cats stuck up trees, is that the equipment they have is designed
specifically for fighting fires and not for arboreal rescue.  Equipment and personnel can become damaged in
the course of a tree rescue, so it is wisest not to take on that risk and leave
the cat rescuing to other professionals who are specially trained in tree
climbing and working at height.  Many
tree surgeons are trained in aerial rescue and are best placed to retrieve both
people and pets from being stuck in the branches.

In the UK our
fire services don’t routinely double as paramedics, so there is less of a
concern about wasting time and diverting resources from emergencies.  This doesn’t mean, however, that anyone
should try to rescue Tiddles without giving it a second thought.  Only attempt a cat rescue mission if the cat
is distressed or injured, and if you have had the proper training.  In most cases, the cat will make its own way
down when hunger strikes, but if you still need help, call a tree surgeon or a
company that rents cherry pickers and height access equipment.