North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue firefighters and Weehawken officials teamed up to rescue a deer trapped near a Hudson River drainage pipe this afternoon.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
At approximately 12:20 p.m., NHRFR received a call that a deer was trapped near a Hudson River drainage pipe in Weehawken, according to Chief Frank Montagne.
NHRFR firefighters responded to scene close to the Chart House, located at 1700 Harbor Boulevard, along with Weehawken police and the New Jersey Humane Society, Township Humane Officer Geoff Santini said.
Workers from the North Hudson Sewerage Authority were contacted to open the grates of a basin tunnel located under the piers, where the deer was trapped, officials said.
From there, the deer was guided back out to the main waterway and was snared as a NHRFR unit brought everyone back to land, where Weehawken police were also present, social media postings of the incident show.
“Wednesday afternoon, our firefighters responded to a report that a deer had been caught near a drainage pipe and were quickly dispatched to save the deer,†Montagne said in a statement.
“The deer first had to be set free before our team could snare the animal and take it back to land. I want to thank our firefighters, as well as the North Hudson Humane Society and the Weehawken Police Department, for acting quickly and saving the life of the deer.â€
Additionally, Santini credited NHRFR Deputy Chief Anthony Venezia with helping pull the deer off the rocks on the coast line and then over a gate.
After being brought back to land, the animal was exhausted and needed time to regain its strength and energy.
After a short period of time, the Weehawken Police Department assisted NHRFR firefighters in bringing the deer to a wooded area in Weehawken where it was released back to the wild.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information.
