UPPER MARLBORO, Md. -- A pair of goats wandering on the roadway were safely rounded up by a Fire/EMS crew on Thursday.
A citizen stopped by the Croom Fire/EMS Station #845 seeking the firefighters' assistance, explaining that farm animals were wandering on the roadway in front of Frederick Douglas High School in the 8000 block of Croom Road.
Firefighters drove to the scene with a fire engine, paramedic unit and the Battalion utility truck. As they approached the scene they observed two citizens attempting to gathertwo goats which were avoiding capture by scattering across the road in front of oncoming traffic. The goats, good samaritans and motorists were all in danger of being injured.
Fire Fighter/Medic Lieutenant Lisa Viars and her crew stopped vehicle traffic on Croom Road near the High School so they could remove the goats from the roadway.
But the goats kept eluding their captors, running away in fear. After one was caught and placed in the bed of UT845, Croom Rd was shut down to traffic while the crew attempted to capture the second goat with the citizen's assistance. But the first goat, crying for its sibling, jumped out of the truck, baaaahing all the way.
A road/landscaping crew working on the shoulder at Frederick Douglas High School joined in the rescue attempt at this time. Each time the crew would get close enough to pick them up, the goats were off and running. After crawling under vehicles and apparatus, and chasing the young goats through the weeds and trees, the crew members, aided by citizens and road crew, herded the goats into a small area.
The goats were taken back to Fire/EMS Station #845, where they were placed in a clean storage area and provided with food.
The husband of Lt. Viars has volunteered to keep the goats until the owner can be identified to retrieve them. One goat has a sticker with the number "574" on its head. The crew members affectionately named the two goats "574" and "845" (845 after the Fire/EMS Station number).
Republished with permission of WUSA-TV
