A distressed feline perched in a tree - it seems like the plot to an episode of Fireman Sam but this was a normal day on the job for the members of Wingecarribee SES on Thursday night.
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A distressed owner called the SES after the cat had become stuck in a high tree at Hill Top.
Wingecarribee SES unit deputy controller Heather Rowe said the owner of the cat, a little black and white female by the name of Alera, had called the unit after following his cat’s cries and finding it perched high in the top of a tree.
“He thought it had spent maybe two or three days up there,” Ms Rowe said.
With eight unit members on site from 8pm, they tried to get the cat down using the biggest ladder they had.
“It just kept moving further out onto smaller branches,” she said.
Eventually, one of the members had a brain wave and decided to call local arborist Timothy Wyszynski fo help.
Ms Rowe said Mr Wyszynski used his climbing gear to reach the cat using a cat pole.
“It was actually a really calm cat – it must have just been so exhausted but it just came down calm and content,’ she said.
The dedicated unit members spent four hours in the cold wind trying to rescue the cat.
“We have a soft spot for animals in the unit so everytime we rescue on it is a good thing,” she said.
As if to show the real variety in the SES role, another more typical rescue came the way of the unit on Friday night.
Seven members responded to a vehicle rollover on the Hume Highway at Sutton Forest.
The vehicle, with a male and female occupant, rolled onto its roof on the median strip.
When the crew arrived, the male occupant had managed to crawl out but the female needed assistance.
A door of the vehicle was removed and the female was helped out.
Ms Rowe it didn’t appear there were any serious injuries and NSW Ambulance treated the occupants.