Firefighters from Madison and Skowhegan along with the Maine Warden Service coordinated the rescue of a deer trapped on the frozen Kennebec River in Madison on Friday morning, according to Madison Fire Chief Donald French.
Brad Bosworth, a firefighter for Madison and Skowhegan, makes his way to the trapped deer on the rescue alive sled on Friday. Contribued photo
The trapped deer, who was estimated to weigh 90 pounds, was first reported by passerby John Kenney, who spotted the deer at around 10:30 a.m. Friday. Kenney called Sgt. Scott Thrasher of the Maine Warden Service who then contacted the Madison and Skowhegan fire departments.
Firefighters from Madison and Skowhegan were at the river’s bank about 200 yards off Weston Avenue in Madison. Firefighter Brad Bosworth used Skowhegan’s Rescue Alive sled to get the deer.
The rescue sled, which was purchased by the department in 2013, is meant specifically for thin-ice and open-water rescues.
Once firefighters got the deer back to shore, they took it away from the banks of the river to make sure it didn’t end up back on the ice, French said.
“We did everything in our power to make sure he didn’t go back on the river,” French said. “He wanted to, but we pulled him as far away as we could.”
Thrasher said the situation had a good outcome because of the “coordinated effort” between the fire departments and the warden service.
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