Two Women, Small Dog Safe After Falling Through The Ice

By Andrew Gorosko

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief Bill Halstead urges that if a pet goes onto unsafe ice, or falls through ice into a body of water, its owners or passersby should promptly alert firefighters of the problem and not venture onto the unsafe ice in seeking to rescue the animal.

That message comes following an incident on the morning of Sunday, March 18, in which a very small black dog walked out onto an iced-over swamp in the area near Buttonball Drive.

Two unidentified middle-aged women, one of whom was the dog’s owner, then ventured out onto the ice in seeking to retrieve the animal, which they feared might fall through the ice, the fire chief said.

Unfortunately, the ice collapsed and the two women and the dog fell into the swamp.

Firefighters were alerted of the problem and responded to the scene with 17 staffers in preparation for an ice rescue, Chief Halstead said. Fire personnel happened to be in the nearby Riverside Road firehouse at the time of the 9:46 am call and reached the swamp within three minutes, he said.

As firefighters arrived at the scene, one woman had already gotten out of the water, and people nearby were helping the other woman and the dog out of the water, he said.

Consequently, firefighters did not have to enter the water for an ice rescue.

The women were checked at the scene by Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps staffers and did not require transport to the hospital, the fire chief said. The dog also recovered from the incident, he added.

“It was a happy ending,” Chief Halstead said.

But he urged that when a pet is in peril on the ice, people should promptly call firefighters for help.

Firefighters respond to such incidents because the presence of a pet on thin ice likely will lead to its owner also going out onto the thin ice in seeking to rescue the animal, Chief Halstead said.

Firefighters are trained and equipped to handle such emergencies, he said.