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TAYLORSVILLE — Firefighters called them "the most combative patients" they had all night.
About 7 p.m. Wednesday, firefighters responded to a different kind of rescue at a Taylorsville home. A mother raccoon and her babies were inside a homeowner's chimney in the 4500 South block of Driftwood Avenue (1505 West) about 15 feet down, said Unified Fire Capt. Sam Christensen.
Firefighters believe the raccoons had probably been in the chimney for several weeks and the babies may have been born there. It wasn't until a neighbor saw the mother raccoon climb into the chimney that they were discovered.
The homeowner got a flashlight and spotted the mother raccoon and four babies. He then walked to the nearby fire station, knocked on the door and asked if they could help.
After finding out that animal control wasn't going to respond, Christensen said his crew started looking for items they could use for the tricky extraction. They used a ladder to get to the roof, found a long PVC pipe and rope and used it to lasso one of the baby raccoons and pull it out, he said.
As soon as the baby raccoon was pulled from the chimney, the mother followed it out and ran off, Christensen said.
Three of the babies put up a big fight as firefighters were trying to get them out. Two were pulled out from the top of the chimney and two from the flue at the bottom. Firefighters put on thick gloves and were able to reach up into the chimney and slowly pull them out, the captain said.
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Residents in a Pleasant View neighborhood have been dealing with the extreme — geese and turkeys killed and maimed, homes invaded and gardens raided. Though residents and the city have trapped and killed dozens of raccoons, more keep returning.One baby raccoon managed to hide in a corner of the chimney. Christensen said crews prompted him to move using a fire extinguisher. At that point, the raccoon was pulled out without a struggle.
It took the crew between 90 minutes to two hours to get the raccoons out, Christensen said.
The four babies were put in a container. The homeowner was going to decide whether to let them wait for Mom to return or release them into the wild.
In the meantime, the homeowner bought a cap for his chimney and firefighters put it on the top of the chimney before they left.
