Firefighters do more than fight fires

Jason Hooten, Mandy Schmidt and Tony Franklin are pictured after the two assisted in rescuing Schmidt’s kitten from inside the wall of her home.

On Monday evening, May 18, several members of Versailles Fire Rescue did what they do best — help others. However, on this particular evening, their time wasn’t spent putting out a fire, checking on a potential gas leak or assisting at an accident scene, but instead helping a local family rescue a very young kitten.

According to Tony Franklin, Lieutenant of Versailles Fire Rescue, a call came into the firehouse Monday evening while several members were still there following their regular monthly meeting. Franklin said a local resident reported that a baby kitten had fallen from the second story of a home into a wall.

Mandy Schmidt asked if the department had any equipment that might help with the unusual rescue attempt and whether firefighters would be willing to assist.

The fire department is equipped with a thermal imaging camera which assists them on many of their runs. This camera can detect fluctuations in temperatures through different surfaces.

Franklin and Jason Hooten, Safety Officer, used the tool which determined where the kitten was located in the wall due to its body temperature. It only took a few minutes for the two to cut a small portion of drywall out of the home and safely remove the kitten. After the kitten was happily received by Schmidt.