Feathers fly

when firefightersfind chickens in D.C. home

D.C. firefighters made an odd discovery while extinguishing a minor fire in a row-house basement in Northwest yesterday morning: nearly a dozen chickens, ducks and other fowl.

Authorities weren”t sure whether the birds were pets of the homeowners, who were not home at the time of the fire. Nevertheless, fire department spokesman Allen Etter said, it was one of the stranger rescues that the department has made.

“We”ve rescued ferrets, cats, dogs. We even rescued a deer from the Tidal Basin,” Mr. Etter said. “But chickens are a new one.”

Mr. Etter said firefighters responded to a call in the 1300 block of Parkwood Place Northwest just before 9:30 a.m.

“It was a lot of smoke visibly coming from the basement,” he said.

Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters found about seven live chickens caged in the basement. Two brown ducks and another bird, possibly a grouse, also were recovered, Mr. Etter said.

One of the ducks was dead, though authorities were not sure whether the bird was killed as a result of the fire, Mr. Etter said. The other birds did not appear to be hurt.

Mr. Etter said it wasn”t clear whether the birds had been abused or were being kept as pets or food sources.

The birds were removed from the home, and the city”s health department and animal-control agency were notified.

It is illegal to keep livestock in residential homes in the District, health department officials said.

The owner of the house was not available for comment.

The fire was started by a hot iron that had ignited some clothing, Mr. Etter said. Damage to the two-story light-green brick house was minimal. By midday, a faint scent of smoke still wafted through the block as the windows in the house were opened to allow in fresh air.

Steve Henry, who lives next door to the house, said he hadn”t seen any signs of the birds prior to the fire and was surprised to learn of his neighbors” feathered roommates when he returned from work yesterday afternoon.

“I wasn”t home at the time the fire began, but I didn”t know of any animals or pets [to save] if I had been,” he said.