My encounter with the firefighters

After my post on the NY firefighters, I actually had an encounter with the Malaysian men in red yesterday. No, there wasn't a fire at my place...Thank goodness!

It all started on late Sunday night when we heard mewing coming from the airwell up on our roof. We also heard a thudding sound as if someone (or something) was knocking against the door of the airwell. Needless to say, it wasn't a restful night...

The next morning, we heard the mewing again. This time, it sounded desparate. Obviously, the kitty couldn't figure out how to get off the roof (typical!) We had to do something. Hubby had to go off to work. I wasn't brave enough to climb up the stairwell. What was I to do? My neighbour suggested I call the Bomba (Malay word for firemen). They sent a team within 20 minutes. I was amazed at their efficiency!

They came equipped with their animal pole and thick leather gloves. Had a quick chat with the friendly firefighters and found out that cat rescues from the roof are a common occurence. Sometimes when the firefighters show up, the cats decide to "rescue themselves"...Since there was silence, they thought that this may be the case. But they were good sports and went up to check anyway.

They found one frightened and angry kitten, hiding behind the water tank. It must have found its way through a gap and couldn't get out again. Now I understand why they had thick gloves. The lil' kitty was spitting, snarling and scratching like crazy! Mid-way, the frightened kitty poo-ed, leaving a trail of poo in my home! Sigh...

It wasn't pleasant cleaning up the poo and wiping my floor throroughly with disinfectant. It cost us money to call in the pest control to fumigate the roof against fleas (our neighbour's home was infested with fleas after a cat gave birth on their roof). We didn't want to risk flea bites.

But, we were grateful to the men in red. Often times, we don't think very highly of public service. This team of firefighters did a wonderful job rescuing the kitten. Not only that, they performed this public service cheerfully! Well done, to our Malaysian firefighters!