Baby deer ‘close to death’ saved by firefighters tackling major blaze

Fawn had collapsed and stopped breathing so needed oxygen, RSPCA said

An orphaned baby deer that was close to death has been saved by firefighters tackling a major blaze in Yorkshire.

Crew have been dealing with a fire on Hatfield Moors, about 10 miles east of Doncaster, for the past two days.

The site is part of a complex of peatlands thought to be the largest lowland peatland bogs in the UK.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) says it is unclear at this stage how the blaze started.

HFRS says it found the female red doe fawn taking shelter in shrubs as they attempted to get the fire under control.

“So our crews at Hatfield Moor incident have rescued this little female Roe Deer from the moors,” HFRS wrote in a tweet.

“After giving it oxygen its made a recovery.”

The RSPCA took the deer to a wildlife centre in Cheshire to recover.

RSPCA inspector Daniel Bradshaw, who attended the scene, said: “There were eight fire engines and crews on the scene from across Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire trying to tackle the blaze.

The baby deer was in a bid way when fire crews found it in shrubland (HFRS)

“When they were fighting the flames they came across this tiny roe deer kid curled up in the shrubs and pulled her to safety, but she soon collapsed and stopped breathing so they put an oxygen mask over her nose.

“The fire was huge and the crews did an incredible job getting this terrified little kid to safety and helping her when she was struggling to breathe.

“I’m certain they brought her back to life and without their quick-thinking actions she may well have perished.”

The kid will now be reared by staff at the wildlife centre before she is old enough to be released back into the wild.