Two raccoons were able to scamper away safely from a warehouse fire in South Bend, Indiana, thanks to the ladder work of the citys fire department.
Some people would ask, Why save the raccoons? the department wrote in a Facebook post featuring video shot by bystander Paul Bierwagen. Life safety and property conservation are two priorities on a fire scene. Thanks to our crews for taking a few minutes to let the raccoons escape.
The video shows two raccoons descending ladders propped against a brick building as smoke billows behind them. As each raccoon springs off the ladders to the ground, children can be heard clapping and cheering.
In a comment under the Facebook post, the fire department explained that the way the ladders are stacked is called ladder splicing and is a technique mountaineers also use.
The blaze began on Sunday evening and was briefly rekindled on Monday morning, according to the South Bend Tribune . Fire investigators told the paper that the building, which was being used for appliance and mattress storage, was a total loss.
South Bend Mayor and 2020 Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg tweeted thanks to the firefighters for their work battling two different fires in recent days, and he made a special point of mentioning the raccoon rescue.
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Glad for the chance today to thank @SouthBendFire fighters for their action on two major fires just a few days apart in South Bend and hear about their experienceand thankful as always for the work our first responders do daily. pic.twitter.com/F9E4sxcBJx
Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) August 6, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Pete Buttigieg","author_url":"https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg","cache_age":86400,"description":"Glad for the chance today to thank @SouthBendFire fighters for their action on two major fires just a few days apart in South Bend and hear about their experienceand thankful as always for the work our first responders do daily. pic.twitter.com/F9E4sxcBJx Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) August 6, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Pete Buttigieg on 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Indiana","slug":"south-bend-indiana","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/south-bend-indiana","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/south-bend-indiana","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/south-bend-indiana"},"relegenceId":3482445,"url":"https://action.news/topic/south-bend-indiana"},{"name":"raccoons","slug":"raccoons","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/raccoons","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/raccoons","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/raccoons"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/raccoons"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">Glad for the chance today to thank @SouthBendFire fighters for their action on two major fires just a few days apart in South Bend and hear about their experienceand thankful as always for the work our first responders do daily. pic.twitter.com/F9E4sxcBJx
Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) August 6, 2019
Also, this happened https://t.co/Y3uGUmJwsb
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Indiana","slug":"south-bend-indiana","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/south-bend-indiana","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/south-bend-indiana","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/south-bend-indiana"},"relegenceId":3482445,"url":"https://action.news/topic/south-bend-indiana"},{"name":"raccoons","slug":"raccoons","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/raccoons","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/raccoons","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/raccoons"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/raccoons"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">Also, this happened https://t.co/Y3uGUmJwsb
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As for the raccoons, their current whereabouts are unclear. When a Facebook user asked whether the animals had been questioned, Fire Captain Brandon Roark responded, they fled the scene, our investigators would like to speak to them.
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