Innovative Surprise firefighters revive heat-stricken exotic bird

Rusty the cockatoo was unresponsive after he was accidentally locked in his owner's pickup truck, but quick-thinking Surprise firefighters were able to revive him and save his life. (Source: Surprise Fire Department)SURPRISE, AZ (CBS5) - There was nothing in the fire department manual to cover something like this, so firefighters in Surprise had to wing it to save an unresponsive exotic bird after it was mistakenly locked in a pickup truck last week.

A woman had locked her keys in the truck while it was in her driveway about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday and called the fire department for help.

Firefighters found the cockatoo, named Rusty, lying flat on the bottom of its cage and breathing erratically.

The distraught bird's owner called an emergency veterinarian, and firefighters decided they had to do something on the fly in the meantime.

Rusty with his new buddy'sThey applied oxygen to the bird, placed two ice packs underneath its wings, squirted it with cool water using a syringe, and fanned the bird to help cool it down.

Animal control officers soon arrived and while on the phone with an avian expert, learned they were doing exactly what was needed.

It took about 15 minutes, but the bird propped itself up and began to regain life. It was taken to a veterinarian and a few days later, firefighters learned Rusty was back to normal.