Cedar Hill Fire Chief Mick Fischer got to put his beekeeping skills to work on Saturday, July 19, when a colony of bees inadvertently was set loose during a traffic accident.
Fire district crews were called to the scene at 3:48 p.m. after an adult male driver and adult female passenger of a gray Ford SUV were transporting a beehive on Hwy. 30 near Gravois and Byrnesville Road in Cedar Hill when the vehicle skidded off the road and rolled into the grassy median, he said.
Cedar Hill Fire Protection District Chief Mick Fischer and his wife, Kelly, worked to save a colony of bees at the site of a vehicle accident on Hwy. 30.
The man and woman were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and were later released, Fischer added.
When crews arrived on the scene, they found the SUV flipped over in the median, he said, adding that heavy rains in the area likely caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
“When we first approached the car, we saw a few beekeeping items inside,” Fischer said. “I didn’t think much about it, just, ‘Oh, this guy must be a beekeeper. I wonder if I know him.’ As (EMS personnel) were loading the patients into the ambulance, I started noticing bees flying around the vehicle.”
Fischer said the driver was transporting the hive to his mother’s house when the accident occurred. The hive box was destroyed when the car rolled over, leaving the contents of the box “strewn about” inside the car.”
Fischer, who said he has cared for bees on his property for nearly 15 years, went back to his house, grabbed his beekeeping gear and returned to the scene to try to save as many bees as possible. His wife, Kelly, helped.
“I was able to slowly work my way through and try to get (the bees) in the hive box,” Fischer said. “I don’t know for sure if I captured the queen or not in the box. I opened the box up (in Fischer’s backyard) so the bees could do their bee things. I plan on going through it in a couple of days, if I don’t hear from anybody, just to see if the queen is in there or not. It’s highly likely, if the queen isn’t there, the bees will die.”
Fischer said he’d like to return the bees to their owners, but as of July 21, the bees hadn’t been claimed.
He said the owners may call Station 1 at 636-285-3345 to make transportation arrangements.
“I hope the owners will want their bees back,” Fischer said. “This is the first time my hobby has ever crossed paths with my job. After speaking with other local first responders, this is the first time we’ve responded to an accident of a car transporting bees.”
The Big River Ambulance District, along with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Northwest Towing, helped with the emergency call, Fischer said.