Firefighters swoop in to save chick

A clunk followed by a squawk turned the employees of a Dunedin business into bird rescuers yesterday afternoon.

CBRE director Darren Bezett was sitting in his third floor office in the Octagon about 4pm when the noise rang through the room.

When he looked through the window, a black-backed gull chick was stuck and fluttering in the rainwater pipe.

Senior administrator Val Fitzgerald sprang into action and called the SPCA who told her to call Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

"He was starting to flutter in there ... We were scared he was going to fall out."

That was when firefighters stepped in to save the day.

Fenz Senior Station Officer Mark Leonard said the crew initially responded with a regular fire truck but decided to call in the aerial appliance.

Animal rescues were "good training", he said.

The chick was safely lifted out by Senior Firefighter Liam McCall and placed back in its nest.

Ms Fitzgerald was pleased the crew made sure there was a happy ending.

"Hopefully, it stays up in its nest and doesn’t fall out again.

"If it does I guess Fenz will be back."

laine.priestley@odt.co.nz