American House staff and residents recently delivered a gift basket of treats to the firefighters at Rochester Hills Fire Station 3 to thank them for rescuing ducklings for a storm drain on their property.

American House staff and residents recently delivered a gift basket of treats to the firefighters at Rochester Hills Fire Station 3 to thank them for rescuing ducklings for a storm drain on their property.

Photo provided by American House of Rochester Hills

Rochester Hills fire crew rescues ducklings trapped in storm drain

By: Mary Beth Almond | Rochester Post | Published June 19, 2025

The crew flushed out the storm drain, allowing the ducklings to be captured into a special net and lifted out to safety.

The crew flushed out the storm drain, allowing the ducklings to be captured into a special net and lifted out to safety.

Photo provided by American House of Rochester Hills

Firefighters from the Rochester Hills Fire Department enter a storm drain to save 10 trapped ducklings.

Firefighters from the Rochester Hills Fire Department enter a storm drain to save 10 trapped ducklings.

Photo provided by American House of Rochester Hills

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ROCHESTER HILLS —  A typical Monday turned into a heartwarming rescue after the Rochester HIlls Fire Department was alerted to a group of ducklings trapped in a storm drain June 9.

Jamie Smith, the community relations director for American House in Rochester Hills, said a resident first noticed a mother duck fly into the center’s secured courtyard — an area surrounded by a fence — to build a nest this spring.

Word spread quickly around the center, and residents delighted in watching the ducklings hatch about a month later.

Soon after, there was an unmistakable peeping of ducklings in distress outside, but no one could figure out where the noise was coming from.

It was soon discovered the little ducklings had followed their mother over the storm drain grates, and had fallen through.

In an effort to rescue the ducklings, American House called the Rochester Hills Fire Department for help.

Firefighter and paramedic Mike Littlefield and Lt. Rich Markovitch of Fire Station 3 responded to the call June 9. The rescuers accessed the drain pipe and located the ducklings, who were found swimming together inside. Thanks to their efforts, 10 ducklings were safely removed from the drain and were reunited with their mother nearby.

“We called the Fire Department, and they went down into the drain and flushed them out to save them,” Smith said. “It was amazing.”

To show appreciation for their hard work, American House residents and staff recently presented the fire crew with a gift basket of sweet treats.

“We love whenever we get treats, especially sweet treats,” Donovan Ballerini, a firefighter paramedic for the Rochester Hills Fire Department, said. “Sweet treats always get devoured within minutes, no matter who brings them in.”

The Fire Department, Ballerini said, is called to rescue ducklings from strom drains many times in the spring and summer.

“We get calls maybe one or two times a month,” he said. “On a positive note from this particular duck rescue, now all five of our stations have a brand-new duck net.”

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