ORANGE — As if from a much milder scene in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” two members of the Orange Fire Department found a squirrel surprise after investigating some suspicious activity in a family’s Christmas tree.

Capt. James Hopkins and firefighter Nino Rodriguez used a department ambulance to respond to a residence in the Tully neighborhood of town on Dec. 8 after a mother of four called reporting a “shaking” Christmas tree and not knowing who to contact.

“She was absolutely frantic on the phone — kind of laughing, but kind of really nervous,” Hopkins recounted. “Her tree was making noise and the top was shaking.”

Hopkins said he and Rodriguez peered inside the tree and found two roughly 3-inch-long baby squirrels, one of which was dead, in a nest he estimated was the size of a grapefruit. According to Hopkins, the family disposed of the deceased animal and the mother who called the Fire Department was considering nursing the surviving one.

Hopkins said the call was a first for him, but his department’s first responders pride themselves on being problem-solvers for the community.

In March 2022, the Orange Fire and Police departments responded to a home on South Main Street to assist a homeowner with a squirrel that was stuck in their wood stove pipe. The stove was quickly dismantled, and the firefighters were able to free the squirrel and get it outside safely.

Hopkins also noted it was refreshing to respond to something other than a fire or vehicle crash scene.

The captain said the family got the Christmas tree at a tree farm and it was still perfectly suitable once the squirrels were removed.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.