Engine 105 crews from The Woodlands Fire Department lifted a group of ducklings out of a storm drain on Pagehurst Court in Indian Springs on Monday, July 27, after the young birds became trapped underground.

The crew first moved the mother duck, who had been standing guard over the drain, then freed the ducklings and carried the family to a nearby drainage canal where they were reunited, according to KHOU 11 and the Patch AM newsletter.

The department did not specify how many ducklings were freed or identify the firefighters who responded.

Not their first animal call

Animal rescues are familiar territory for Engine 105. In May 2019, the same unit freed an animal stuck in a fence in The Woodlands, prompting the department's social media account to celebrate the crew's versatility:

@firewoodlands: "No job is too small for these professionals!"

The Woodlands Fire Department, led by Fire Chief Palmer Buck, operates under The Woodlands Township and handles calls ranging from structure fires and water rescues to the occasional wildlife emergency.

Storm drains and local waterways

The Woodlands has more than 14,000 storm drains across the community, and those drains connect directly to local waterways including the Spring Creek watershed, according to The Woodlands Township. Approximately 7,000 to 8,000 have been marked through the Township's Storm Drain Marking Program, which aims to remind residents that runoff and anything else entering a drain flows untreated into creeks and lakes.

That direct connection to waterways is part of why wildlife sometimes ends up in the drain system, and why crews treat these calls seriously even when the stakes are measured in feathers rather than flames.

Residents who spot an animal trapped in a storm drain or other infrastructure can call The Woodlands Fire Department's non-emergency line or dial 911 if the animal appears injured.