If you’ve got a cat stranded on top of a water tower in Colorado, the man to call is Steve Flemming. “I was like, ‘Absolutely, we’re doing that,’ ” he said.
Flemming is the owner of Technical Rescue Systems, a Fort-Collins based training firm, which came out to LaSalle, Colorado to save the cat, which had been stranded since Sunday, according to a report in the Greeley Tribune.
Firefighters and a tactical team went to downtown LaSalle on Wednesday morning to rescue the little black cat, whose pitiful meows could be heard by area residents. Sarah Polizin and others gathered to watch the drama play out. “I’m a cat lover,” Polizin told the Greeley Tribune. She was going home for lunch and wanted to see the cat safely on the ground.
“It’s a little bitty cat,” said company founder Flemming. “(I don’t know) how in the world it got up there.” The 85-foot tower has been converted to a anew use, holding cell equipment.
Flemming’s company saves animals — from dogs to deer — pretty regularly. They train workers in safe climbing techniques. Flemming said the LaSalle Fire Department conducted the risk assessment and groundwork for his team. The actual rescue was carried out by two climbers, Brady Thomas of the Greeley Fire Department and Daniel Winning of the Poudre Fire Authority. They managed to wrangle the cat into a pet carrier and lower him to the ground.
The successful rescue effort was met with a big round of applause. “I’m just glad it turned out well,” Winning said. The cat was taken to the vet for a checkup, according to the Greeley Tribune.
