Firefighters can still be counted on to rescue a cat in distress, at least in one San Mateo County town.
It wasn't a cat stuck in a tree but a black kitten trapped in a water drainage pipe that summoned Menlo Park Fire Protection District firefighters to Selby Lane in Atherton around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
A resident called the fire station to report that she had heard a kitten crying all morning and discovered that it had slipped down the drainage pipe, according to a fire district news release. Firefighters used cellphone photos and video to locate the kitten trapped at least 14 feet below a concrete walking deck in a pipe that was only 4 inches in diameter. At 5:16 p.m., San Mateo County Animal Control was called to the home to take over the rescue operation, but when its efforts failed, the firefighters were summoned back.