An off-duty firefighter has put his beekeeping hobby to the ultimate test after a swarm of 15,000 bees flew into a man's car.
In a scene that is - quite literally - my worst nightmare, off-duty Las Cruces firefighter Jesse Johnson came to the rescue after an unsuspecting member of the public returned to his car to find an estimated 15,000 bees nesting in his car.
The man had been picking up some groceries at the Albertson’s grocery store on El Paseo Road on Sunday (March 28), when he returned to his vehicle shortly after 4:00PM to find a swam of bees trying to hitch a ride.
The bees had entered the car after the man left the back window down.
Unbelievably, per a post on the Las Cruces Fire Department's Facebook page, the man returned from the store, placed his groceries in his car, and started to drive away before eventually noticing the swarm on his backseat.
After Las Cruces firefighters were called to the scene, they blocked off the area to ensure the safety of the public, and then turned to one of their own for help.
Related - This couple had to have 60,000 bees removed from their home:Firefighter Jesse Johnson - who was probably enjoying his day off - is a beekeeper in his spare time, and promptly arrived at the scene with the correct equipment in order to help his team.
Arriving with "a hive kit, lemongrass oil, gloves, and proper attire", Johnson was able to remove the bees safely and transport them to a new location outside of the city's limits.
The crew was at the scene for roughly two hours before the man was able to safely drive home with his shopping, and thankfully, no major injuries occurred - but one Albertson’s security guard was stung.
Officials from the Las Cruces Fire Department say that bee removals are rather uncommon, "however, to mitigate the mid-afternoon hazard the large swarm presented in a relatively high-traffic area, firefighters determined the best remedy was to have the swarm removed and relocated swiftly".
A huge well done to Johnson and the entire Las Cruces Fire Department - it may not have been a fire, but it still took a tremendous amount of courage!
Featured image credit: Pixabay/Pexels
