A 14-year old boy was rescued after falling through ice in Smiths Falls, Ont in early January.
In a gripping video posted to Facebook by the Smiths Falls Police Service, firefighters pulled the teenager out of the frigid Rideau River and across the ice to shore.
Just before 2 p.m. on January 10, the boy and two friends decided to take a shortcut across the river. After the unstable ice sent him into the water, his friends placed a 911 call to police, who arrived and attempted to throw out ropes to the boy when they arrived.
“He was very lucky,” says Rick Chesebrough, fire chief with the Smiths Falls Fire Department. “Lucky that he was with friends, lucky that it was during the day, and lucky that firefighters were in the hall to respond so quickly.”
This part of the Rideau River, which is known for its fast-moving waters that don’t always freeze over, was calm on this particular day. Another factor that worked in the teen’s favour? The Smiths Falls’ local fire hall is just down the street from where the incident took place.
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The video shows two firefighters horizontally sliding across the ice—one joined the boy in the water to push him up, while the other pulled him ashore to paramedics. In total, the whole rescue was under two minutes.
“This could have been tragic had this youth been alone,” said police, who were granted permission by the boy’s parents to post the video for educational purposes. “The youth did exactly what he was supposed to—remained calm and listened to the rescuers.”
The teenager, who rescuers say was in the water for anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes, was taken to hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
Emergency officials are reminding the public to be extremely cautious when venturing out onto ice. “No ice is safe ice,” says Chesebrough.
If you do plan on stepping foot on ice—whether you’re ice fishing or snowmobiling—make sure you check the stability of the ice every few feet and go out with a buddy.
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