All in a day’s work. Penticton firefighters are used to going out to medical calls and fires. Even rescuing cats up trees.
But on Thursday morning, a call came in at 7:50 a.m. that would put firefighters in the icy waters of Okanagan Lake.
Three firefighters rescued a deer stuck in the ice on Okanagan Lake, near Marina Way.
One rescuer made contact with the deer, covering its head with a blanket to keep it calm. Using a rope system, the deer and rescuer were slid back to shore, said assistant fire chief Rob Trupp.
Once the deer was safely on shore, it was assessed and determined to be healthy. The deer walked on its own away from the area and headed into the forested area at the esplanade.
Penticton firefighters and well-known photographer Mike Biden captured the whole thing on his camera.
Interestingly, enough this isn’t Penticton fire’s first deer rescue.
All Okanagan firefighters do yearly ice rescue training, where they dip themselves in the icy waters of one of our lakes in January.
“We do yearly ice rescue training which usually happens in January. This isn’t the first deer rescue, but the staff is fully trained to deal with these situations,” said Trupp.
READ MORE: One of Santa’s reindeer goes AWOL in Penticton?
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