Quacking ringtone used by firefighters to rescue baby ducks

The Louisiana fire department spent over 90 minutes coaxing the frightened ducklings out of a storm drain

A duckling is rescued from a Louisiana storm drain by firefighters (Louisiana Fire Department/ Youtube)

A Louisiana fire department has managed to rescue six ducklings, after they used a duck call ringtone to entice them out of a storm drain.

Thanks to quick thinking by Cody Knecht, a firefighter with St Tammany Fire District, he was able to use his mobile phone to attract the ducklings towards the surface.

But even with the realistic, reassuring quacking sounds, it still took Mr Knecht around 90 minutes to catch the first four baby mallards in the south-east Louisiana community of Slidell.

Chad Duffaut, of the St Tammany Fire District, said that Mr Knecht rescued the other ducklings by allowing them to calm down for about an hour, before reuniting them all with their mother in a nearby canal behind a house where the ducklings were first seen entering the drain.

Chris Kaufmann, Fire Chief of the St Tammany Fire Protection District #1, said: "With the help of a duck call ringtone on his iPhone, firefighter Knecht was able to lure the baby ducks to him.

"St. Tammany Fire District #1 responds to numerous public service calls such as these each year. This is the second duck rescue call in less than a week. Firefighters are always eager to help and enjoy giving back to the community."