How Long Grove firefighters came to the rescue of trapped fawn

With Lake County animal control unavailable and a wildlife intake center out of reach, Long Grove firefighters knew it was up to them to rescue a baby deer that had fallen into a home's window well Monday morning.

Not only would they need to find a way to liberate the fawn, but they also needed to do it before the animal smashed through the window and damaged valuable artifacts in the basement.

The only question - how?

"We couldn't put a ladder down, because it started to freak out, and we didn't want it to punch through the (window) glass," Long Grove Fire Protection District Lt. Kris Mullen said.

The firefighters landed on a solution - lowering webbing into the well and guiding the fawn into it. Once the fawn was secure, they quickly lifted her out with a rope.

As part of the procedure, the fawn's face was covered.

"Animals, especially wild ones, and even horses, you kind of cover their eyes so they can't see," Mullen said. "And they kind of calm down a little bit."

Once the fawn was out, firefighters carried her over to nearby grass, undid the webbing and let her go.

"She just took off," Mullen said. "Mom typically isn't too far away."

Fire Chief Paul Segalla said that after discovering the fawn Monday morning, the homeowner contacted numerous agencies but was unable to get any assistance. So, fire protection district Squad 55 came to the rescue.

Mullen said the fawn, estimated at about 6 weeks old based on her spots, was trapped 10 to 12 feet in the window well.