Firefighters rescue bird trapped in extractor fan in Highgate

London Fire Brigade commented ‘firefighters love animals’, but ‘we do encourage people to call the RSPCA in the first instance’

Firefighters were called to rescue a bird trapped in a Highgate resident’s home last week, with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) releasing a statement ‘encourag[ing] people to call the RSPCA in the first instance’ in similar cases.

On Monday, 29th May, the LFB were called at 8.08am to a home where a small bird was trapped in a kitchen extractor fan. A crew from Hornsey Fire Station attended the scene and the incident was resolved by 8.29am.

A sub-officer Nikolajs Zakis had been called to rescue a magpie which had fallen down a chimney in Hackney only four days earlier. He commented: “Strangely, just a few days after the magpie rescue, my crew and I were called to a small bird that was trapped in a kitchen extractor fan. We isolated the fan and use small tools to remove part of it to get to the bird.”

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters love animals and we are ready, willing and able to assist distressed or injured animals – the last thing we want is for people to put themselves at risk rescuing an animal themselves – but we do encourage people to call the RSPCA in the first instance and we will assist if our specialist equipment is required.”

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