Couple, dog, saved after falling through ice near Kenora, Ont.
Rescuers used rope, a canoe and a kayak to save a man, woman and dog on small northwestern Ontario lake
A rescue effort saved two people who fell through the ice into frigid waters on a small lake in northwestern Ontario on Good Friday.
Around 9:30 a.m. the fire department in Pellatt, a township located near Kenora, Ont., received a call that someone had fallen through the ice on Sandy Lake.
When he arrived on the scene, Pellatt fire chief Barry Bennett said he discovered a man, 60, a woman, 57, and a dog, all at different points in the water.
"What had happened is I guess the woman had seen a dog go through the ice, and he was yelping ... and in distress, so she decided she was going to go out there and rescue this dog."
"And in close to shore the ice was pretty strong still. But once you got out a little bit further, you know the ice was deteriorating daily, if not hourly, at this time of the year, and she went through the ice," said Bennett.
When the woman's husband ran out in an attempt to rescue her, he too fell through the ice.
Borrowed boats used for rescue
"Surprisingly, they stayed pretty calm," Bennett said. "We started talking to them."
At first, Bennett said his team, along with members of the OPP who also arrived on the scene, tried to coach the couple to pull themselves out of the water, but with no success.
That's when the rescue team decided to don their life-jackets, and send rescuers out to get them.
"One of my fellows had commandeered a kayak from a neighbour," said Bennett, adding that they used rope to secure the kayak to the shore, as the rescuer pushed his way out to reach the man, and pull him out of the water.
Other responders used a canoe to reach the woman, he said. And with a final rescue effort they were also able to save the dog.
Couple recovering
Bennett said despite spending close to 30 minutes in the icy water, both the husband and wife were in good shape, and are now doing well.
"I was in contact with the daughter. She contacted me on the Saturday to say her mom and dad were recuperating well, warming up — embarrassed and sheepish about the whole incident but everything was good."
While it was the most dramatic event, Bennett said that wasn't the fire department's only ice rescue that morning. Shortly after the incident, they were called to second spot on the same lake, to save another dog that had also gone through thin ice.
Bennett said it all serves as a reminder of how unreliable the ice can be.
"The fall during freeze up, and the spring, ice conditions change daily if not hourly," he said.
"It's nothing to play around with."