By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A tale with a happy ending.
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department responded to a notification on Thursday, March 21, at approximately 7:30 p.m. after receiving a notification that a kitten was stuck 10 to 12 feet down, inside the bottom of a large power pole at the intersection of Greene Street and Union Street in downtown Beaufort.
According to a release from Beaufort/Port Royal Deputy Fire Chief Ross Vezin, the City of Beaufort Public Works Division was also notified and was to assist in the rescue.
It took roughly three hours for the cat to be freed.
A phone on a belay system was dropped down the hole to locate the “scared and hungry kitten” and after using many different tactics to try and rescue the kitten, it was eventually safely extracted using a rope and a fishing net.
According to a post made to the City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department’s Facebook page, the cat did not need medical treatment and quickly ran away from the scene once it was freed.
“Before fleeing the scene, firefighters educated the cat on the dangers and risks associated with entering confined spaces without the appropriate safety plan in place and a means of egress identified,” the post said.
Battalion 1, Engine Company 1 and The City of Beaufort Public Works Department all responded to the rescue, and Public Works Director Nate Farrow and Public Works Operations Manager Bryan Durrance responded to the scene after their workday to lend a hand.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
