NEWS

Gastonia firefighter rescues injured seagull

Gavin Stewart
gstewart@gastongazette.com
A seagull tries to free itself after getting its foot stuck in the light fixture high above the parking lot of Academy Sports + Outdoors Tuesday morning. [Mike Hensdill/The Gaston Gazette]

A seagull stuck to a light fixture outside Academy Sports was swiftly rescued by Gastonia Fire Department Tuesday morning.

Blacksburg, South Carolina resident Priscilla Brown and her husband, William, stopped by Lowe’s hardware store in Gastonia on their way to Charlotte. Brown was sitting in her truck waiting for William when she happened to glance over at Academy Sports’ parking lot and spotted the seabird.

An owner of cats, chickens and other birds, Brown was horrified.

“I couldn’t stand seeing it suffer,” Brown said. “It was killing me, and there was nothing I could do.”

So Brown called Gaston County communications in hopes the right people could help.

Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement officer Brooks Drennan and Gastonia firefighters arrived on scene just before 9:30 a.m. The bird – dangling upside down by its foot, which was trapped in the slatted fixture at the top of a pole – flapped its wings in panic.

Gastonia Fire Department quickly geared up and sent firefighter Daniel Benedict up the ladder with a towel. Benedict wrapped the bird up, closing its wings and cradled it out of the fixture.

Upon the seagull’s ground-level return, Drennan observed the bird and found blood on its leg. It was hard to tell if the seagull suffered a broken leg, Drennan said.

“I think it’ll be fine. I’m going to call Carolina Waterfowl Rescue and get up with them. They’ll get it fixed up,” Drennan said. “I’m pretty confident. I’ve seen them fix a lot worse.”

In his fifth year with Gastonia Fire Department, Benedict never imagined this kind of rescue, but he’s happy to do it.

“It’s a good feeling,” Benedict said. “Hopefully the bird will be all right.”

You can reach Gavin Stewart at 704-869-1819 or on Twitter @GavinGazette.