YOU CAN TAKE THE MAN OUT OF ESU, BUT . . .
True to the old adage, you can take the man out of ESU but you can’t take Emergency Service out of the man, Retired ESU Lieutenant Cory Cuneo was recently “called” back into action. The last time ESU had an encounter with ducks was a few decades ago when a certain author and his partner used the two inch fire hose on the Adam car, used for washing down the street after a car accident, to put out a fire. The fire was in a yard where dozens of school buses were parked. The pair averted a potential disaster, which was explained in the “49” sent to the Police Commissioner. Whew. Again, a few years later, another 49. This time, to explain why, the two inch hose was used when the Truck picked up a house fire. Yes Commissioner, we did keep the house fire at bay while the Adam car evacuated the two-family home while waiting for FD to arrive. Whew once again.
Jump to today and another encounter with ducks, but this time the flying kind. While reading the morning headlines, retired ESU-5 Lieutenant Cory Cuneo received a text to, “come quick, bring tools”, (sic) to a rescue at the corner storm sewer. Alighting from his kitchen, Cory rushed, not like his Truck One days, but he did arrive rather quickly, and did his ten second survey. What he observed was heart wrenching; “I saw the momma duck with two of her chicks on the street peering into a sewer grating looking at seven more of her brood deep in the sewer”.
His first reaction was to lift the sewer grate, but years of experience, lack of the Adam car and, let’s face it, age, brought him back to reality. Instead, he sent his wife home for the “sewer extraction tool” hanging on the wall in his garage. Said to be invented in the early 20th century, the tool has been used for decades to collect such items as keys, money, books and especially thousands of Spaldeens.
Unable to find the wire coat hanger, she comes back with their grandson Chris’s butterfly net. Replying to a shout from the gathering crowd, Cory sharply responds: “Because it was the only color they had!”
Returning to the job at hand the Lieutenant, one by one, extricated the ducklings all the while under their mom’s watchful eye. Thankfully the catch sewer was dry, but the job was still difficult because of the ducklings jumping around trying to avoid capture.
The reunited family was last seen waddling down the block toward the peacefulness of the nearby cemetery. As for their rescuer, Cory was last seen on his phone to ESS Truck 1 asking for a water rescue form for his very intrepid rescue.
Nice work L-T, once an E-Man, always an E-Man.
Tony Cuccia, ESU (Ret)
REMA News Service
