Thursday January 2, 2025, firefighters intervened on the roof of the Saint-Michel church in Gaillac (Tarn) to save a cat who had been stuck for five days. Without a solution to bring it down, residents were worried about the animal's health and demanded intervention from the authorities.
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An unusual story moves the inhabitants of Gaillac (Tarn) at the start of 2025. The Saint-Michel church welcomed a very special occupant for five days: a cat. The latter remained stuck on the roof of the building without being able to descend until the firefighters intervened with a basket this Thursday, January 2.
A Facebook post recounting this story was posted online on January 1 and quickly garnered more than 350 comments where many Internet users wondered about the non-arrival of the firefighters. Do the latter, who finally intervened, really have to manage this type of situation?
Rescuing animals is part of the firefighters' missions
The law of November 25, 2021, known as the “Matras Law”, officially integrated the protection of animals into the missions of firefighters. In France, around half of the departmental fire and rescue services (SDIS) now have an entity responsible for operations relating to animals.
But firefighters only intervene when there is danger to the life of the animal. This can involve any type of incident, from a critical fall into a body of water to a serious injury.
The story was told on the Tarn Info group.
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© Screenshot Facebook Tarn Info
Concerning cats stuck at height, the notion of danger to the life of the animal turns out to be much more complex. On their website, the firefighters specify that they do not intervene in these situations because “eAs a general rule, animals that take refuge in trees come back down on their own.”
In summary, if the cat is able to climb up, it is also capable of getting down from the building on its own. But, in the case of Gaillac, after waiting a legal period of 48 hours to let the cat possibly come down on its own, the firefighters decided to intervene with the help of the municipal police.
At the start of the week, without the help of the firefighters, the cat's rescue mission proved very complex. On Monday, the municipal police were alerted and an agent managed to climb onto the roof of the church, but the mission proved dangerous because access to the attic is very complicated. The municipal police officer therefore had to go back down without being able to save the animal.
The Gaillac town hall told us this morning of January 2 that it did not have sufficient equipment to carry out the rescue. The fire brigade was therefore able to solve the problem and relieve a large number of residents.
The commune of Tarn feared having to wait for work to resume on the Saint-Michel church this Monday, January 6 to save the cat with the help of the craftsmen. A distant horizon which raised fears of health problems for the animal.
