It was a fire call like none they'd ever had. Cincinnati Fire Department's Ladder Company 32 in Avondale firefighters assembled their hoses at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden's Elephant Reserve on Monday, the first day of the zoo's Hometown Heroes week.Jati, 32, waded right into her pool and stationed herself closest to Eric Buning, head keeper of the elephants, who tossed whole heads of lettuce and other treats to her as firefighters showered the elephants with their hoses.
Schottsie, too, headed for the pool, as firefighters Dennis Schwettmann and Ryan Pickering aimed the water up into the air and let it fall onto the elephants.
"It's nice to be out and about in the community," said Capt. Eric Wessel. He checked with firefighter Cornelius Lewis, who's been on the force for 28 years and learned that, indeed, this was the first time ever that the company has headed up a shower time for the elephants at the zoo.