Georgina firefighters rescue swan that was trapped on Lake Simcoe

Animal recovering at Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge

Yorkregion.com
April 12, 2018
Heidi Riedner

It was a Swan Lake of sorts, only this time with a happy ending, out on Lake Simcoe April 12, as Georgina firefighters assisted local wildlife refuge Shades of Hope with the rescue of an injured swan trapped for two days out on thin ice.

Shades of Hope operations manager Cathy Stockman said the young trumpeter swan is weak and has an injured leg, but is resting comfortably after its two-day ordeal out on the ice before its eventual rescue by the Georgina Fire Department.

“One of our volunteers is a retired fire chief and he put a call in to the department to see if they could help out in any way,” Stockman said.

“As it turns out, they were scheduled to do some training out on the lake anyway, so they agreed to take a look.”

Trapped out on thin ice about 150 metres off shore in Roches Point for at least two days, Stockman said the swan was too far to reach without the assistance of trained professionals.

“The fire department was great,” she said. “Everything went off without a hitch. They got a practice training run in for them while rescuing a swan at the same time.”

The centre is testing the swan for lead poisoning, which Stockman said, sadly, is quite common in water birds.

“We see a fair bit of that, not only from birds swallowing sinkers and hooks left behind by anglers, but also from being shot.”

The swan will also have a complete medical work up tomorrow when it is stronger and better able to handle the tests.

“At this point, we’re not entirely sure what we are dealing with," Stockman said, adding her thanks to firefighters.

Former Georgina fire chief and Shades of Hope volunteer, Steve Richardson, said the rescue was a great example of public service by the fire department.

"By attending, they not only rescued an injured animal, but also prevented a possible human rescue if a concerned citizen tried to rescue the swan on their own," he said, adding the rescue can be viewed as a controlled training exercise, further enhancing the department’s broad range of skills.

Performing Swan Lake may not immediately come to mind, but it is yet one more example of firefighters doing more than fires in a day's work.