Firefighters from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department's Station 23 helped a young camel in distress on a hillside get to safety on Friday morning on Tepusquet Road. Post rescue provided time for a treat. Credit: Santa Barbara County Fire Department photo

Instead of a cat in a tree, Santa Barbara County firefighters undertook a very different type of rescue on Friday when they went on a call filled with humps.

Crews from Fire Station 23 in Sisquoc responded at 9:50 a.m.. to the 3700 block of Tepusquet Canyon Road east of Santa Maria for what Capt. Scott Safechuck called a “camel assist.”

Firefighters were summoned to help Frankie, a baby camel in distress on a hillside in the remote area, Safechuck said. 

With the assistance of Frankie’s mother, firefighting personnel guided the 8-month-old camel off the hillside, safely reuniting the family on flat land, Safechuck added. 

“Firefighters are trained to think about the what-ifs. However a camel assist is not something we immediately think of,” Safechuck said, adding praise to Station 23’s crew. 

A Santa Barbara County firefighter stands at the bottom of hill looking at a young camel in distress on Friday morning. The humans helped the young camel get to safety and his mother. Credit: Santa Barbara County Fire Department photo

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.