Four ducklings were saved by Oak Creek firefighters. See the video of the family reunion.

Quack, quack, quack, quack.

Four baby ducks were saved from a sewer in Oak Creek by firefighters, one of whom called the duckling reunion with mom “awesome” in a video posted on May 6 to the Oak Creek Fire Department Facebook page.

The video description said the department was "happy we were able to help this family stay together."

Oak Creek Fire Battalion Chief Scott Kasten said it’s the season for baby ducks and called it common for the younglings to get caught in storm sewers in the springtime. He said ducks are attracted to the area due to Oak Creek’s many retention ponds and other sources of water.

“The ducklings find their way into storm sewers and citizens will see that and give us a call at the fire station,” Kasten said.

This rescue was performed by firefighter John Leanna, who can be seen in the video releasing the four lightly feathered friends into the retention pond near Oak Creek’s city hall.

“He’s done a few of these before,” Kasten said of Leanna’s duck rescue efforts.

How were the ducks captured?

To save ducks stuck in a storm sewer, firefighters remove the sewer grate and oftentimes the water level is high enough so they can just reach down and grab the ducks. Sometimes, however, firefighters have to climb down a bit into the sewer to retrieve the ducklings.

“It’s kind of a hit and miss sort of thing,” Kasten said of duck rescues. “In this case we were successful.”

Mom and dad duck are often agitated because they can’t get to their babies and they stay in the area.

“The ducklings are never usually left to fend for themselves (upon release),” he added. “The parents are usually close by.”

How common are animal rescues for firefighters?

Kasten said they happen from time to time. If it’s a wild animal, usually the call goes to the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission.

Oak Creek firefighters, in addition to duck rescues, once saved a cat who’d made its way into a void behind a cabinet.

“We were able to take some cabinet pieces off and access it safely,” Kasten said.

Contact Erik S. Hanley aterik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page,The Redheadliner, and follow him on X@Redheadliner.