Some parts of the Patrick Street Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia, are under construction. It's not a safe place for a tiny kitten wandering alone. A passer-by spotted a kitten that had fallen into a hole in one of the bridge decks on Wednesday. She called emergency services, and the Charleston Police Department and the Charleston Fire Department responded. A firefighter was secured by a harness and then lowered into the hole. A witness said the firefighter actually rappelled off the bridge and climbed inside the girders to rescue the kitten from below the deck! You can see a video of part of the operation here.
The woman who first saw the kitten then took him to the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association shelter. Shelter staff named the kitten Patrick, after the Patrick Street Bridge, and estimate that he's between two and three months old. Patrick was terrified after his ordeal, but uninjured. He will soon go to a permanent home, as lots of people are interested in adopting him.
Patrick's story has already raised more than $700 for the shelter, which will go to help many animals. -via Fark
(Images credit: Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association)