Fitchburg firefighters rescued a group swans from a lake on Monday.
"We rescue people, we rescue animals, we rescue whatever needs to be rescued," said Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Dateo.
Firefighters jumped into Mirror Lake in Fitchburg on Monday to rescue the birds.
"As the ice forms over the lake, there’s only a small area where they can congregate. So, that’s the time when you rescue them" said Dateo.
Dateo said if firefighters did not rescue the birds, predators would have eaten them.
But the swans are not easy to rescue.
"Obviously, they don’t want to be captured," said Dateo.
The swan rescues firefighters perform, however, serve as a good cold water and ice rescue training.
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