Swan Rescued in Milford by Numerous City Employees

MILFORD, CT — This was a different kind of rescue for the Milford Fire Department, members of the Wastewater Division and Animal Control employees.

It all began on Wednesday when a swan was found floating in one of the aeration tanks at the Housatonic Treatment Plant, city officials said Thursday.

Several wastewater employees and animal control staff tried desperately to get the swan out but was unable to so they tried to get the swan to come close to the edge by feeding it bread in hopes that it would fly away or at least try to get out of the tank, officials said in a news release.

"The thought was that it would eventually get out of the tank later that evening. When the wastewater workers arrived for work on Thursday ... the swan was still in the tank and very dirty and weak. It was trying to clean itself off but was not able to. At this point it was very close to the grinder which is very dangerous. It was very tired so in a rescue effort it was decided that the fire department should be called to see if they could possibly help us," Milford's Wastewater Division said in a news release.

"The Milford Fire Department was very responsive and came right out and eventually able to capture the swan in a net and bring it to safety," the statement reads. "The fire department hosed off the swan as best they could and then animal control had come back to check out the situation and found that the fire department had done an excellent job of removing the swan from the tank."

The swan was then wrapped in a blanket to keep it warm and then animal control put it in a cage and brought it to Wildlife and Crises in Weston, Conn. where it would be cared for. Wastewater will check back in a couple of days to get an update on the condition of the swan.

The wastewater division employees commended both the Fire Department and Animal Control Staff for all of their efforts to make the swan rescue a success.

Patch file photo of a swan and not the swan that was rescued in Milford.

Written by Brian McCready (Patch National Staff)

(Editor's Note: This story first ran previously but here it is again in case you missed it.)