Manatee Rescue

In February, responders in Florida successfully rescued a 7-foot, 400-pound manatee that had wiggled his way up a concrete pipe and became trapped in a stormwater drain under the road. The unusual rescue made international headlines, but it was all in a day's work for Brandi Phillips, the animal technical rescue specialist who helped lead the effort to extract Melby the manatee. Phillips joins us on today's episode to chat about how the unique incident unfolded, the challenges of rescuing trapped animals, and what resources, including NFPA standards, are available to help guide agencies as they prepare for and respond to these sometimes tricky incidents. LINKS Learn more about NFPA 2500, Standard for Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents and Life Safety Rope and Equipment for Emergency Services. Read and learn more about the University of Florida's Veterinary Emergency Treatment Service

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Manatee Rescue is an episode from NFPA Journal Podcast by NFPA.

This episode is 42:29 long.

This episode was published on Mar 10, 2026.

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