BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (WSVN) — A firefighter battling a brush fire in the lower Keys jumped through flames to rescue an endangered Key deer fawn.
The fire began Sunday afternoon, quickly spreading due to high winds. While working to protect a home, Monroe County Fire Rescue firefighter Jen Shockley spotted the baby deer through the blaze.
“I jumped into the flames and saved the little guy,” Shockley said. “He was all by himself and running for his life into the fire.”
Rescuers gave the fawn oxygen and water, and wrapped the animal in a sheet. The deer was thankfully not injured, and was later released into a nearby unburned area.
Officials said it is unusual to see a fawn with no mother in sight. Key deer usually do not need rescuing because they have adapted over the years to fires.
Dan Clark, the Refuge Manager of the National Key Deer Refuge, says wildfires are actually needed in the Key deer habitat, noting the new growth that follows provides nourishment for the herd.
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